A hospice nurse specialist, a care home manager, adult social care workers, and a prolific cancer support fundraiser were among those included on the King’s New Year’s Honours List.
Teresa Mary Gazi, lead clinical nurse specialist at City Hospice, Cardiff, became a Medallist of the Order of the British Empire (BEM) for services to nursing and hospice care.
Having retired from the post last year after 19 years, the 68 year old has no idea who put her name forward.
She told Wales Online: “I’m very excited.
“When the letter came, I thought I really don’t know why they’ve done this and why they’ve chosen me, it’s that kind of feeling.
“You just think, ‘I don’t really deserve this’ because I think of all the people I’ve worked with over the years and you think to yourself they deserve it just as much, if not more.”
You don’t set out to do things that are going to impact your community, with the thought that you’re going to be rewarded for it, so it is really surprising
Louise Marie Gough, founder of Bright Sparks SCIO, based in Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, was awarded the same accolade for services to foster care.
For nearly three decades she has served as a foster carer alongside her husband, Steven, and her role in establishing Brightsparks has been transformative, securing council support, funding, and significant Lottery grants to create a state-of-the-art facility for children with additional support needs.
She said: “It can actually get me quite emotional, because it’s been a journey.
“You don’t set out to do things that are going to impact your community, with the thought that you’re going to be rewarded for it, so it is really surprising.”
A BEM was also awarded to Mary Ann McFarlane for services to community care and charity (Portree, Ross and Cromarty).
Among the recipients of the Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) title were Professor Oonagh Smyth (pictured top), chief executive of Skills for Care; and Claire Burgess, a social worker and children’s social care adviser and children’s improvement adviser at the Local Government Association.
They were joined by Shazia Hussain (pictured above), director of children’s social care, at the Department for Education; and Mary Catherine Hutton, chief executive of the NHS Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board.
Professor Smyth has been Skills for Care’s chief executive since 2020 and previously held roles at organisations including Mencap, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, and the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.
She said: “I am deeply humbled and profoundly grateful for this recognition.
“I see this honour as being a recognition of the incredible work by the team at Skills for Care and across adult social care.
“Every day, dedicated people come together with a shared purpose: to make life better for those who draw on care and support. That collective commitment is what drives real change, and I am proud to play a part in supporting that.
“We are entrusted with the immense privilege of helping people live their lives fully, in all of our communities, and this award is a call to action – to ensure that adult social care, the people we support, and the people who work in adult social care, receive the respect, visibility, and resources they deserve.”
Every day, dedicated people come together with a shared purpose: to make life better for those who draw on care and support. That collective commitment is what drives real change, and I am proud to play a part in supporting that
Rukshana Kapasi (pictured below), director of health at Barnardo’s was among those made Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBEs) for services to transforming care, health equity and the patient voice.
Also a non-executive director at Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust, Kapasi is Barnardo’s first director of health, where she has led its transformation into a health and social care provider and through a partnership with Sir Michael Marmot’s Institute of Health Equity and three integrated care systems.
In 2019, as chair of IBDUK – a partnership of 17 royal colleges and patient organisations – she led the introduction of the UK’s first digital standards for inflammatory bowel disease services, supporting more-consistent, high-quality care across the country.
And she is an advisory commissioner to the Health Devolution Commission and co-chairs the Child Health Equity Collaborative.
She said of the award: “What a surprise I had when I received the letter on my birthday. It reflects the collective dedication of countless colleagues across the NHS, the charity sector, and beyond who I have worked with over many years, who strive every day to transform patient care, amplify voices in healthcare, and improve health equity.
“I feel privileged to have had the support of so many kind, thoughtful and visionary leaders, teams, and clinicians throughout my career, enabling me to take risks, change the status quo, and champion change for the most-underserved communities.”
Care operator, HC-One, has two of its staff honoured (pictured below)– Sue Watson, home manager at Pytchley Court Care Home in Northamptonshire, who was awarded an MBE; and Anna Selby, executive director of quality, who was awarded an OBE for their services to adult social care.
Together, they have more than eight decades of experience in the care sector, with Watson having a 50-year career spanning acute, mental health, geriatric, and prison nursing, both in the UK and internationally.
Selby has 30 years of experience across adult mental health and social care where her achievements include delivering the first ‘Outstanding’ CQC rating for a retirement domiciliary service, supporting system-wide NHS transformation in Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes, and implementing dementia care innovations that influenced national commissioning.
Among the other MBE recipients were Jason Richard Bennett of the All Wales Heads of Adults Services Group, Vale of Glamorgan Council, and the Association of Directors of Social Services Cymru; and Sarah Louise Day, business delivery unit lead at the Association of Directors of Social Services Cymru.
Anne Elizabeth Fairhurst, executive lead member for adult social care and public health at Hampshire County Council; Professor Emeritus, Andrew Joseph George Pithouse, special policy adviser to the Welsh Government; and Marie Curie Cancer Care fundraiser, Wilbur Arthur Notley, were also praised for their work in community and adult social care.