NHS staff and leaders from across the North West have been recognised in the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours list this year for their outstanding service to patients, communities and the NHS in the region.
Colleagues from the North West Ambulance Service, Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust and Brownlow Health Kensington Park in Liverpool have been recognised this year, as well as several staff from Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust who were nominated by the mother of a child involved in the Southport tragedy.
Commitment and Dedication
NHS England North West regional director, Louise Shepherd, said: “We are delighted to see NHS colleagues from across the North West recognised in The King’s Birthday Honours.
“These awards are a reflection of the commitment and dedication of individuals and teams to patients, communities and fellow staff. They have been awarded for improving access to care for people experiencing homelessness, supporting refugees and asylum seekers, championing vulnerable children and young people, delivering specialist children’s services and driving quality, innovation and improvement in ambulance care. What an impressive body of work.
“Every person recognised should be incredibly proud. Their service is a powerful reminder of the skill, compassion and commitment shown by NHS staff across the region every day.”
Caring Work
Dr Deborah Faint, a GP at Brownlow Health in Liverpool, has been made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to general practice for people experiencing homelessness in Liverpool. Deborah has dedicated almost 30 years to improving health and wellbeing for some of the city’s most vulnerable communities and is recognised as a pioneer in inclusion health and the driving force behind Brownlow Health’s Homeless Service.
Farida Laeeq, care coordinator for Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Global Ethnic Majority Communities at Brownlow Health in Liverpool, has been awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to supporting refugees and asylum seekers in Liverpool. Drawing on her own lived experience as a refugee, Farida has supported more than 1,100 people navigate healthcare, housing, education, employment and community life. She is widely recognised for her compassion, cultural understanding and ability to build trust between communities and public services.
Sara Jane Barr-Frost, deputy chief nursing and allied health professionals officer at Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust and lately director of nursing and allied health professionals at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust, has also been made an MBE for services to the NHS. A paediatric nurse and Specialist Public Health Practitioner, Sara has spent almost 30 years improving care for children, young people and families, with a strong focus on safeguarding, trauma-informed care, autism and learning disabilities, and person-centred care. Her career has focused on championing the needs of children and young people who are most vulnerable in our communities.
Improved Services
Dr Maxine Lilian Power, former director of quality, innovation and improvement at North West Ambulance Service NHS (NWAS) and now at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, has been awarded The King’s Ambulance Service Medal for Distinguished Service. Since joining NWAS in 2017, she strengthened patient safety, improved services, introduced digital innovation and established the trust’s first improvement academy. She also championed staff support during COVID, helped establish the NWAS Women’s Network, and contributed nationally and internationally through research, collaboration and sharing best practice in large-scale change.
Five staff at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust have been awarded Medals of the Order of the British Empire (BEM) having been nominated by the mother of one of the children involved in the Southport incident. Dr David Martin Wright, consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon; Dr Katie Louise Misselbrook, consultant anaesthetist; Pundrique Radheyshyam Sharma, consultant plastic surgeon; Roger Walton, consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon; and Vittoria Bucknall, consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon, have each been recognised for their work caring for children and young people through specialist services at Alder Hey.
