Professor Kamila Hawthorne MBE, Chair of RCGP Council visits HealthBus

On February 14, 2024, Professor Kamila Hawthorne MBE, Chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Council, paid a visit to Bournemouth to engage with the HealthBus team. Greeted warmly by Dr. Maggie Kirk, Dr. Gareth Sherwood (Trustee), and colleagues at Bournemouth University, Kamila embarked on an exploration of HealthBus’s pioneering approach to delivering specialised care via the mobile clinic. Throughout the day, she immersed herself in understanding the charity’s mission and the challenges it confronts, reflecting on the intricate dynamics that health policies impose on initiatives aimed at addressing disparities in healthcare access.

 

With a distinguished career spanning 34 years as a GP, including 27 years in South Wales, Kamila brings a wealth of experience to her endeavours. She graduated from Somerville College, Oxford, in 1984, and completed her GP training in Nottingham in 1988. Kamila has served as the Head of the Graduate Entry Medicine Programme at Swansea University and holds positions on the Trustee Boards of the King’s Fund and Cardiff Women’s Aid. Additionally, she serves as a Bevan Commissioner and is a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales.

Kamila’s passion for medical education is profound, advocating for the cultivation of compassionate and inclusive clinicians equipped to serve a global community. She champions the pivotal role of GPs in patient care and as staunch advocates for their patients’ well-being.

Her research and clinical focus have centred on health inequalities and healthcare access, exemplified by her MD research involving BAME patient groups with Type 2 diabetes in Nottingham, Manchester, and Cardiff. With extensive experience in general practice and overseeing community initiatives addressing diabetes and heart disease, Kamila has been honoured as ‘GP of the Year’ twice and received an MBE in 2017 for her contributions to General Practice.