New Year Honours for Imperial people
Four members of staff at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust have been recognised in the King’s New Year Honours List. Many congratulations to Dr Dominique Allwood, director of population health, Professor Neil Poulter, honorary consultant physician and epidemiologist, and Dr Frances Akor, consultant pharmacist (anticoagulation), who have been awarded MBEs. Congratulations also to Professor Philip Bloom, consultant ophthalmic surgeon at Western Eye Hospital, who has been appointed Lieutenant of the Royal Victoria Order (LVO).
Dr Dominique Allwood
Dominique has been recognised for her contribution to the NHS over more than 20 years as a clinician and consultant in public health medicine, spanning senior clinical leadership, management and advisory roles. Since 2017, Dominique has been a senior clinical leader at Imperial College Healthcare, working across quality improvement, population health, staff wellbeing and equity. In February 2025 she also became chief executive of Imperial College Health Partners (ICHP).
First appointed as a consultant in public health medicine, Dominique went on to become associate medical director at the Trust with responsibility for quality improvement. She helped to establish a trust-wide, award-winning improvement programme, building improvement capability at scale and supporting hundreds of NHS staff to use improvement methods to enhance care, safety and outcomes for patients. She also helped shape and strengthen the Trust’s approach to patient and public engagement, embedding co-production and lived experience into service design and strategic decision making at the Trust.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Dominique played a pivotal role within the Trust. She established a staff health and wellbeing service to support the workforce during unprecedented pressure and led the development of a clinical decision support service for critically ill patients. She also served as medical director at NHS Nightingale Hospital London where she helped establish a learning system for the temporary hospital.
Subsequently appointed director of population health at the Trust in 2022, Dominique has created a dedicated population health team and framework for the Trust. She established a health improvement function which has led to demonstrable impact on smoking cessation, improved access to services and health outcomes for patients with high need, while embedding a clear organisational focus on health equity. She has helped the Trust strengthen partnerships across the system and its role as an anchor institution.
Across these roles, Dominique has combined clinical expertise with strategic leadership, ensuring meaningful impact across improvement population health and equity-focused NHS leadership.
On receiving the award, Dominique said: “It is a huge honour to be recognised in the King’s New Year Honours list. Improving health and tackling inequalities is very much a team effort and this recognition reflects many years of serving alongside colleagues across the NHS and wider partners. I am continually inspired by the patients and communities we serve, and deeply grateful to work with colleagues whose commitment and kindness make this work possible.”
Professor Neil Poulter
Professor Neil Poulter, honorary consultant physician and epidemiologist at the Trust and professor of cardiovascular medicine at Imperial College London, has been awarded an MBE for services to hypertension prevention.
Professor Poulter qualified at St Mary’s Hospital Medical School in 1974 before training in General Medicine. After 5 years co-ordinating a hypertension research programme at the Wellcome Trust Research Laboratories in Nairobi, Kenya, he returned to London to continue to study the patterns and causes of hypertension.
As a professor at Imperial, he founded the Imperial Clinical Trials Unit and has led many major international trials to test new ways to treat high blood pressure. He treats hypertension patients at the Trust, where he is also co-Director of the International Centre for Circulatory Health.
Neil said: "High blood pressure is often called the ‘silent killer’ because so many people are unaware they have it. By learning more about the science behind it, exploring new treatments, and encouraging people to have regular checks, we could prevent hundreds of thousands of strokes and heart attacks every year.
"This award reflects the importance of that mission and the collective efforts of colleagues and collaborators working to prevent its devastating impact. I look forward to continuing our work to improve awareness, diagnosis and treatment worldwide."
Dr Frances Akor
Dr Frances Akor, consultant pharmacist (anticoagulation), has been awarded an MBE for services to sport. This is for her work outside the Trust as a non-executive board member for UK Anti-Doping (UKAD), the national body responsible for protecting sport in the UK from doping. Frances has held this role since 2017, using her expertise as a pharmacist to offer UKAD advice and foresight on medicines and substances.
Frances has been part of Imperial College Healthcare for 15 years, supporting the appropriate and safe use of anticoagulation medicines. This is a group of medicines that are used to treat and prevent blood clots. Frances first became involved in sports medicine when she joined the pharmacy set up for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London. She then joined UKAD's board in 2017 and also chairs their Innovation Commission, which brings together a range of experts with diverse perspectives from across the public and private science sectors in order to support innovation across the organisation. Read more about Frances' story in this blog.
Frances said: "I'm taken aback to be recognised for this in the New Year Honours, for my work with UK Anti-Doping.
"I've always loved sport and it's been a huge privilege to serve on UKAD's board, supporting their vital work protecting sport in the UK from doping by offering advice and foresight on medicines and substances. While this work is separate to my role at Imperial College Healthcare, it's of course been informed by my 15 years working here as a pharmacist. I am hugely grateful to everyone at UKAD and the Trust who've supported me on this journey and am looking forward to what comes next."
Professor Philip Bloom
Professor Philip Bloom has been appointed Lieutenant of the Royal Victoria Order (LVO) in the King’s New Year Honours. This prestigious honour is awarded for significant service to the Monarch or Royal Family and is in recognition of Philip's work as surgeon oculist (eye surgeon) to His Majesty the King.
Philip is a consultant ophthalmic surgeon at Western Eye Hospital, where he has worked for almost 30 years. He first qualified in 1984 at Bristol University and trained in Bristol, the Western Eye and Moorfields Eye Hospitals. He has been president of the UK & Ireland Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons, chair of Glaucoma UK (formerly the International Glaucoma Association), as well as trustee and board member of the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM). Philip has also held roles as council member and president of the RSM Ophthalmology Section and as a Keeler Scholarship Board trustee (Royal College of Ophthalmologists).
Philip's special clinical and research interests include minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (including glaucoma laser treatments), neuro-protection, surgical simulation/training and spectacle independence after cataract surgery. His research has resulted in over 100 peer-reviewed research papers, articles in scientific journals, books and other academic materials.
In addition to his clinical work and research, Philip has extensive experience in medical education. He is an honorary senior lecturer at Imperial College London's Faculty of Medicine and associate professor at Plymouth University School of Medicine & Dentistry.
Professor Philip Bloom, consultant ophthalmic surgeon at the Western Eye hospital, said: "It means so much to be recognised in the King's New Year Honours.
"I am incredibly passionate about providing the best possible eye care and latest cutting-edge treatments for all my patients. It is a privilege to have had the opportunity to work in this area for over 35 years now, alongside so many talented colleagues. I look forward to continuing this journey and helping many more patients, directly and through research, over the coming months and years."
Congratulations
Professor Tim Orchard, chief executive at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “I am really pleased to see Dominique’s dedication to improving health and tackling inequalities recognised in the New Year Honour list. We are very proud of her many achievements and the difference she has made to patients, staff and communities in north west London over many years.
"I would also like to congratulate Professor Neil Poulter on being awarded an MBE for his world-leading contribution to improving the detection and treatment of hypertension, and Dr Frances Akor for being recognised with an MBE for services to sport.
"I'm also delighted that Professor Philip Bloom has been appointed Lieutenant of the Royal Victoria Order in the King’s New Year Honours. It is great to see his outstanding work, as a consultant ophthalmic surgeon at the Trust across over 30 years and as the King’s oculist, being recognised in this way.
"It's a huge source of pride that four Trust staff have been named in this year's New Year Honours and a wonderful reminder of the hugely talented people we have working across our hospitals.
"On behalf of our whole organisation, congratulations, Dr Dominique Allwood, Professor Neil Poulter, Dr Frances Akor and Professor Philip Bloom."
