Trinity Hall Honorary Fellow and alumnus, Professor Sir Simon Wessely, and alumnus, Professor Iain Whitaker, are recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours for their services to the public and their professions.
Professor Sir Simon Wessely is awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) for services to mental health.
Professor Iain Whitaker is awarded Order of the British Empire (OBE) for contributions to clinical practice, research, and training.
Professor Sir Wessely is Professor and Head of the Department of Psychological Medicine at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neurosciences (IoPPN), King’s College London. Born and educated in Sheffield, he studied Medical Sciences and History of Art at Trinity Hall, Cambridge (1975-78).
An Honorary Fellow of Trinity Hall, he has a long-standing interest in the boundaries of medicine and psychiatry and in particular, unexplained symptoms and syndromes. He is also interested in military health and established the King’s Centre for Military Health Research. Its flagship project, a large-scale ongoing study of the health and wellbeing of the UK Armed Forces, has had a direct impact on public policy and on forms of treatment and help for Service personnel.
Praising his colleagues at King’s College London, he said: “Being the first psychiatrist to receive this honour shows just how far mental health in general, and psychiatry in particular, has advanced since I started my psychiatry training at the Maudsley Hospital back in 1984. I was fortunate to then move to the Institute of Psychiatry in 1991, where I have been ever since.
“Whatever I have achieved since then would never have been possible without the support of both what is now the IoPPN and the wider King’s College London. But the most important thing of all has been the privilege to work with such generous, talented and extraordinary colleagues over all these years. My thanks to each and every one of you.”
Professor Whitaker’s career in plastic surgery has included his appointment as a full Professor at Swansea University aged 36, which, according to the national clinical academic survey, made him the youngest Professor of any discipline of surgery in the UK.
Professor Whitaker said: “I am deeply honoured to receive this award. I am thankful to receive recognition for over 20 years of work within the specialty of plastic surgery which I am deeply passionate about. I would like to thank all those involved in my nomination and acknowledge that this is also a reflection of the achievements and contributions of the organisations, communities and individuals that I work with.
“My aim has been to work tirelessly to investigate ways to improve patient care, whilst building a multidisciplinary team and recruiting the brightest and the best aspiring doctors into Wales to raise the profile of the nation.”
Mary Hockaday, Master of Trinity Hall, said: “Many congratulations to Professor Sir Simon Wessely and Professor Iain Whitaker. We are very proud to see two distinguished Trinity Hall alumni honoured in this way for their services to their professions and the public.”
