Team King’s among the Health Service Journal’s Top 50 BAME Health Figures

19 October 2023 - Dr Michael Brady and Felicia Kwaku feature in the publication’s most influential 50 Black, Asian and minority ethnic figures

Dr Michael Brady, HIV and sexual health consultant at King’s, and Felicia Kwaku, associate director of nursing at King’s both feature on the list compiled by the Health Service Journal (HSJ) of the BAME figures who will exercise the most power and/or influence in the English NHS and health policy over the next 12 months.

Dr Michael Brady, HIV and sexual health consultant at King’s, and Felicia Kwaku OBE, associate director of nursing at King’s both feature on the list compiled by the Health Service Journal (HSJ) of the BAME figures who will exercise the most power and/or influence in the English NHS and health policy over the next 12 months.

Dr Michael Brady has been included in recognition of his work to tackle inequality and access issues among the LGBTQ+ community. He also successfully advocated for PrEP – a treatment which virtually eliminates the chances of HIV being passed between sexual partners – to be made available as a game-changer for tackling rates of the virus.

Chair of the chief nursing officer’s Black and minority ethnic strategic advisory group and a member of the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s professional strategic advisory group, Felicia Kwaku OBE has been recognised for her work highlight the impact of the pandemic on Black, Asian and minority ethnic people.

In 2020 Felicia was awarded an OBE for her services to healthcare during the initial waves of the pandemic, which she dedicated to colleagues who had died from COVID-19. Felicia has also put a spotlight on the racism nurses can face from patients – who sometimes say they don’t want to be looked after by a Black nurse – and from institutions.

Welcoming the news, Bernadette Thompson OBE, Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at King’s College Hospital, said:

“I am absolutely delighted to see this recognition for two of our colleagues who work tirelessly, and often behind the scenes, to create a more inclusive culture not just at King’s or the Southeast, but across the NHS.

“Felicia and Michael are role models of what inclusive leadership is all about. Leaning in, taking action and making change. Congratulations to them both.”

See the full list of the top 50 BAME Health Figures here.