Past RCoA President, Professor Ravi Mahajan, is made a CBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours

Professor Ravi Mahajan, who was the President of the Royal College of Anaesthetists until September 2021 has been named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list.

Professor Mahajan has been a role model for international medical graduates who aspire to achieve senior leadership positions in Anaesthesia. He acted as one of a team of key advisors to the NHS and Government. He also brought together leading organisations in anaesthesia and intensive care medicine to disseminate clinical guidance on patient care in the pandemic.

Professor Mahajan was one of the first to apply research methodology to patient safety, becoming one of the country’s experts in this field. His 250 research publications include more than 100 original articles in peer reviewed journals.

An RCoA Council member and Charity Trustee since 2007, Professor Mahajan created and led four multi-stakeholder bodies, providing benefit to NHS patients in key areas:

• in patient safety, through the Safe Anaesthesia Liaison Group, a collaboration with the Association of Anaesthetists
• in high quality research into patient care, through the Health Services Research Centre
• in academic anaesthesia, through the National Institute of Academic Anaesthesia, and
• in improved outcomes for the 10 million NHS patients who undergo surgery every year, through the Centre for Perioperative Care (CPOC).

CPOC’s work has been noted by Professor Stephen Powis, NHSE National Medical Director, who said:

"Perioperative care is at the heart of the Government’s ambitions to build back better after COVID-19."

As well as his national leadership positions, Professor Mahajan was Professor of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care at the Nottingham University Hospital. He has guided many students to their PhD degrees and played key roles in advancing teaching standards, also chairing the University’s medical Final Exam Board.

A Rotarian in Nottingham for many years, Professor Mahajan has supported local charities and improved lives locally and internationally. As President of the Nottingham India League, he has raised funds for the British Heart Foundation and Diabetes UK alongside selected Indian charities - the League is responsible for 50 per cent of funding for the Navjeevan Institute for Blind People in Tirupati, India.

Professor Ravi Mahajan said:

“I am pleased and humbled on being recognised in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list. This indeed is an acknowledgement of the hard work of so many individuals who have unconditionally supported me and have been generous with their time and commitment in everything that we have achieved together so far.”

Dr Fiona Donald, President of the Royal College of Anaesthetists said:

"I am absolutely delighted both personally, and on behalf of the specialty, that Professor Mahajan’s many achievements have been recognised in this way. Ravi’s wisdom and tireless efforts have improved the lives of countless patients in the UK and abroad, and he has also been a generous and wise mentor to generations of colleagues. His leadership during the pandemic has been exemplary and I am honoured to have worked alongside him."