AN NHS doctor from Preston, Lancashire has scooped an international award at this year’s prestigious Global Women in Healthcare Awards for her work in supporting and training doctors to fulfil their full potential and deliver patient-centred care.

Dr Mumtaz Patel, Postgraduate Associate Dean in NHS England North West’s Workforce Training and Education Directorate, won the Outstanding Leader award at the prestigious Global Women in Healthcare Awards.

Mumtaz was given the award for her work in undergraduate and postgraduate medical training, supporting doctors to fulfil their full potential, and promoting leadership and the delivery of patient-centred care.

Dr Mumtaz Patel, Postgraduate Associate Dean, NHS England North West, said: “I am absolutely delighted to have won this award. To have been shortlisted was a huge achievement itself and then to go on to win was a real surprise. I was very honoured and humbled to win the award.

“The award highlights the work that we do around workforce training and education and the Long Term Workforce Plan as well as my wider work to support women in healthcare and reduce the gender leadership gap globally. I am absolutely delighted by this.”

Aside from her role at NHS England North West, Mumtaz is a Consultant Nephrologist at Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Director of Conduct and Progress at University of Liverpool’s School of Medicine, and Vice President of Education and Training at the Royal College of Physicians.

After completing her medicine degree at University of Manchester in 1996, Mumtaz went on to pursue a career in renal medicine. She completed her foundation training at the Manchester Royal Infirmary, her renal specialist training in Yorkshire and gained her PhD from the University of Manchester in the genetics of lupus nephritis in 2006.

Mumtaz has established a strong track record in education, training, assessment and research. She obtained her Masters in Medical Education in 2014 and leads on national research around assessment, differential attainment, professionalism, and gender equity.

Chris Cutts, Regional Director of Workforce, Training and Education at NHS England North West, said: “A huge congratulations to Mumtaz for this win and for going above and beyond in her role. The NHS is nothing without the people who work in and alongside it, and this award recognises Mumtaz’s outstanding contribution in training and supporting doctors to deliver erstwhile patient-centred care.

“This is an immense achievement as we continue on with delivering the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, the first-of-its-kind plan for the NHS, to train, retain and reform the workforce and put the NHS on a sustainable footing into the future.”

The Global Women in Healthcare Awards was held for the first time this year and launched by EMMS International and the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in celebration of the achievements of women in healthcare.

Dr Cathy Ratcliff, CEO and Director of International Programmes at EMMS International, said: “For over 150 years, EMMS International has challenged the belief that girls won’t succeed at college or university, or as professionals, and we support vulnerable women in India, Malawi and Nepal to follow their dreams to become doctors, nurses, midwives or lab technicians. The Global Women in Healthcare Awards shine a light on inspirational role models for future generations of women in healthcare across the world.”

The awards, held on 9 March, marked International Women’s Day 2024 by recognising women’s contribution to global healthcare and highlighting the importance of supporting healthcare academic study across all communities.