Birmingham Children’s Hospital boss awarded CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours

The Chief Executive of Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust (BWC) has been awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to leadership in the NHS.

Sarah-Jane Marsh, who has had a distinguished 22-year career in the NHS, has led the Birmingham Children’s Hospital for the last 13 years and in 2015 took on responsibility for the Birmingham Women’s Hospital, creating the first NHS Trust for women’s and children’s services in the UK.

During this time, the quality ratings and standing of both hospitals have improved markedly with the Children’s Hospital rated as ‘Outstanding’.

At the Children’s, this includes a unique rare diseases centre, national centres for liver surgery and epilepsy surgery and a major trauma centre. At the Women’s, this includes ground-breaking developments in fertility services, fetal medicine and genomic testing.

Born and raised in the Black Country, Sarah-Jane has taken on a number of national roles.

These include chairing the NHS England Maternity Transformation Programme Board, as well as the Children and Young People Transformation Programme Board, which brings together partners across health, care and education to improve the health and well-being of children and young people.

She also chairs the Genomics England Newborn Genomes Programme, the National Health and Social Care Discharge Taskforce and in 2020, in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, was asked to become director of testing at the newly formed NHS Test and Trace, working under huge pressure to create the capacity to perform more than 500,000 tests a day in less than six months.

What did Sarah-Jane say about the award?

She said: “When I became CEO of Birmingham Children’s and then Birmingham Women’s, I felt like all of my dreams had come true. The care and compassion, alongside the drive to always be at the forefront of what is possible, is not unique within the NHS, but it is somehow so special as to make every day at BWC a privilege.

“So, to be awarded a CBE for the honour of leading such a brilliant group of people, alongside the national work I have been afforded the opportunity to combine with it, is humbling, and I thank those who have taken the time to nominate and support me.”

Ruth May, Chief Nursing Officer for England, added: “My personal congratulations to Sarah-Jane on this well-deserved recognition of her leadership within the NHS. Sarah-Jane’s commitment and dedication to improving maternity care and the health and wellbeing of children and young people across England, her leadership and collaborative approach is inspirational to many colleagues. I am delighted that her career and public service is being acknowledged with this prestigious award.”

Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, Chairman of Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust and former Medical Director of the NHS in England, said: “Sarah-Jane embodies leadership in our NHS and public service at its very best. This award is in recognition of her remarkable contribution to healthcare and improving services for women and children in Birmingham and the NHS in England. She’s a true credit to our NHS.”

A message from the editor:

Thank you for reading. BirminghamWorld is Birmingham’s latest news website, championing everything that is great about our city - reporting on news, lifestyle and sport. We want to start a community among our readers, so please follow us on Facebook,Twitter and Instagram, and keep the conversation going.