Faculty Awards Ceremony
Tuesday, 26 June 2007
Honorary Fellowships of the Faculty are regarded as the ‘OBEs of public health' – an extremely prestigious award only bestowed on ‘persons of eminence who have rendered exceptional services to the science, literature or practice of public health.'
This year, at a ceremony at the Faculty's annual conference, Honorary Fellowships were received by Professor Sir Albert Aynsley-Green, Professor R M Boyle CBE and Dr Julian Tudor Hart, in recognition of their outstanding service to public health.
‘Honorary Fellowships are awarded only to those who have made the most exceptional contribution to public health, and these three genuinely inspiring figures fit that mould perfectly.'
Sir Albert Aynsley-Green
A lifelong champion of children's welfare, Professor Sir Albert Aynsley-Green was appointed as the first Children's Commissioner in 2005, with a remit to allow children an independent voice and make sure their concerns and viewpoint were given a far higher profile than ever before. He is also Emeritus Professor of Child Health at University College , London .
He has been an Executive Director on the Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Trust board, Director of Clinical Research and Development at the Institute of Child Health and has held countless other special interest posts in relation child health and welfare. Sir Albert was knighted for his services to children and young people in the Queen's 80th Birthday Honours in 2006.
Professor R M Boyle
Professor R M Boyle has been a tireless campaigner to ensure that prevention – through action on smoking, exercise and diet, and management of risk factors like high blood pressure and cholesterol – has played a key role in tackling coronary heart disease.
He was instrumental in developing and leading the implementation of the National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease, and, working with ministers and the Chief Medical Officer, provided strong support to help ban both tobacco advertising and smoking in public places. He has kept steadfastly true to his vision of a policy agenda not dominated by medical and NHS models, and has ensured that around £750m of capital investment be channelled into tackling the north/south health inequality divide, acting as a strong voice for, and consistent clinical leader in, public health in government over many years.
Dr Julian Tudor Hart
Dr Julian Tudor Hart's commitment to fighting health inequalities stretches back over thirty years in general practice in deprived communities in London and South Wales, and it was back in 1971 that he first stated the ‘inverse care law' in The Lancet – that the availability of high quality care tends to be in inverse proportion to the needs of the population being served.
An acknowledged expert on the management of both hypertension and diabetes, Dr Tudor Hart has published four books, 160 articles in scientific journals and more than 25 papers in the BMJ and Lancet . His commitment to the use of team working and scientific thinking to address health inequalities has been an invaluable contribution to public health practice in the UK.
‘Honorary Fellowships are awarded only to those who have made the most exceptional contribution to public health,' says Faculty President Rod Griffiths, ‘and these three genuinely inspiring figures fit that mould perfectly. Each has done outstanding work in furthering the cause and practice of public health, and they serve as an inspiration to us all.'