UWE Bristol Professor in Emergency Care Jonathan Benger has been awarded a CBE for services to the NHS.
Professor Benger, who is also a consultant at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW), and Chief Medical Officer for NHS Digital, was recognised in the Queen’s New Year Honours list.
Graduating from University of Bristol Medical School in 1990, Jonathan initially trained as a surgeon, then in anaesthesia, intensive care and paediatrics, before specialising in emergency medicine.
He has previously led several reforms of emergency care as the National Clinical Director for Urgent and Emergency Care at NHS England. He also leads the Emergency and Critical Care Research Theme in the Centre for Health and Clinical Research at UWE Bristol.
Jonathan has a lifelong interest in research and was appointed to a Professorial Chair at UWE Bristol in 2008 and leads a team of 15 people carrying out a wide range of emergency care research, particularly around the management of critically ill and injured patients, service delivery and workforce.
Most recently, he has been leading on digital and data provision for the health and care system, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes NHS111 online, the NHS.UK website and the NHS app, all of which have been central to the pandemic response – 16 million people now use the NHS app.
Jonathan, who has worked at UHBW as a consultant in emergency medicine since 2003, said: “It’s a proud moment for me, however it’s also an opportunity to acknowledge the many excellent teams that I have had the opportunity of working with. My academic training, and the Emergency Care Research Programme based at UWE Bristol, have been central to informing and developing my work for the NHS both locally and nationally.
“Emergency care is a ‘team discipline’; it’s only possible to push things forward and improve care by working as part of a coordinated and effective multi-disciplinary team.
“I think it’s vital to remain clinically grounded, and I work in the Trust every week. It is so important that clinicians with a national leadership role also work on the front line to ensure we are clinically credible, and close to the practical delivery of patient care and the challenges that staff face every day. I am proud to work for UHBW.”
Professor Marc Griffiths, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences, said: “Professor Benger’s appointment as CBE is testament to his hard work and collaboration shown over the last several years. Jonathan’s work within the field of Emergency Medicine and NHS Digital has ensured safer patient outcomes and his experience is invaluable across a range of our health and social care programmes and research themes.
“I am incredibly proud of Jonathan’s achievements and is a real world example of collaboration across different disciplines and organisations.”