HQIP’s Chair Celia Ingham Clark recognised in King’s Birthday Honours List

Published: 14 Jun 2025

We are proud to share that HQIP’s Chair, Celia Ingham Clark, has been made a Dame Commander of the British Empire (DBE) for Services to the NHS. This prestigious award recognises Celia’s invaluable contribution to improving the nation’s healthcare services.

A former deputy Medical Director at NHS England, Dame Celia commented: “I am honoured and feel very privileged. This achievement reflects the commitment of the great teams with whom I have worked, past and present, whose focus is always on improving care for patients”.

Celia Ingham Clark joined HQIP in late 2024, after decades as a clinician and medical leader in the NHS championing the use of data to deliver targeted improvements in healthcare. Her wealth of experience is a perfect match for HQIP’s clinical audit resources, supporting the delivery of our vision of improved health outcomes for all through high-quality, evidence-driven healthcare. Working together presents a significant opportunity to maximise the impact that data has on patient outcomes.

Since starting her career as a consultant general surgeon, Celia was presented with an MBE in 2013 and retired from the NHS in 2024. HQIP’s CEO, Chris Gush, added: “HQIP is delighted to join the roll-call of congratulations for Celia’s Damehood. This is an extremely well-deserved honour that recognises the pivotal role she has played in saving and improving patients’ lives for many years. We are privileged that Celia is Chair of our Trustee Board”.

Importantly, in addition to celebrating past achievements, this award will also support the delivery of further improvements in healthcare. In these challenging times (when resources are stretched across the NHS and beyond), it will help when, for example, reaching out to new collaborators and participating in policy discussions. Or, as Dame Celia herself states: “This Honour will help me to support healthcare providers and their clinical staff to deliver quality improvements in patient care.”

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