Prof Kamila Hawthorne

Who Prof Kamila Hawthorne is

Professor Kamila Hawthorne MBE is a salaried GP in Mountain Ash, South Wales, and served as Chair of the Royal College of GPs from November 2022 to November 2025, the first South Asian woman and first working GP in Wales to hold the post. She qualified from Somerville College, Oxford in 1984 and completed her GP training in Nottingham, subsequently holding GP principal roles in Nottingham, Manchester and Cardiff. She is Head of the Graduate Entry Medicine Programme at Swansea University, with research interests in health inequalities, diabetes, and culturally appropriate health education for ethnic minority communities. During her chairmanship she was a prominent public voice on GP workforce shortages, workload pressures, and the need for greater government investment in general practice. She was awarded an MBE in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to general practice.

References for this biography

1. 1.Professor Kamila Hawthorne elected as next Chair of RCGP — Confirms election, three-year term from November 2022, role at Swansea University, MRCGP examiner history, MBE, and special interests
2. 2.Professor Kamila Hawthorne – RCGP Annual Conference 2023 speaker bio — Confirms GP of the Year awards (2000, 2010), MBE 2017, research interests in diabetes and health inequalities for BAME communities, Bevan Commissioner role
3. 3.Professor Kamila Hawthorne – Swansea University staff page — Confirms Head of Graduate Entry Medicine Programme at Swansea University, Oxford qualification 1984, GP training Nottingham 1988, health inequalities research focus
4. 4.Kamila Hawthorne interview: 'GPs should be trusted to do their jobs' – New Statesman — Confirms role as RCGP Chair, practising GP in South Wales, and public advocacy positions on GP autonomy and health inequalities
5. 5.RCGP Press Team contact page — Provides organisational press email and phone number for media enquiries
6. 6.Professor Kamila Hawthorne speaks at College conference 2025 — Confirms she remained Chair through the 2025 annual conference and that her successor Victoria Tzortziou Brown would begin her term at end of November 2025
7. 7.Professor Kamila Hawthorne MBE – The King's Fund — Confirms trustee role at the King's Fund and background in health inequalities research

Notable achievements

• Elected Chair of RCGP Council in July 2022, serving a three-year term from November 2022 — the first South Asian woman and first working GP in Wales to hold the role. Source ↗
• Awarded an MBE in the Queen's New Year Honours 2017 for services to general practice, recognising work on culturally appropriate diabetes health education with ethnic minority communities. Source ↗
• Named 'GP of the Year' twice — in 2000 for work with BAME communities in Riverside, Cardiff, and in 2010, nominated by a patient. Source ↗
• Elected a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales in 2022. Source ↗
• Served as Vice Chair (Professional Development) of the RCGP between 2015 and 2018. Source ↗

What Prof Kamila Hawthorne has said

• “A patient's postcode and where they live should not determine the level of NHS care they receive. It can't be right that people in deprived communities - who often have more complex health needs and would therefore potentially benefit from health interventions most - are less likely to receive it, because GPs in deprived areas are responsible for hundreds more patients per head on average than those practising in more affluent areas.”

  Chair of the Royal College of GPs · Health inequalities · 30 Sept 2026 · Patients in poorer areas to get better access to GPs ↗

• “GP workload pressures are so pronounced that many of our members are telling us they are worried they can't guarantee safe care when there aren't enough GPs to keep up.”

  Former RCGP chair · GP access · 30 Sept 2026 · NHS data reveal 'collapse' in GP jobs in England ↗

• “'The Simulated Consultation Assessment is one part of the tripartite MRCGP exam, which is designed to ensure a GP Registrar's competence in the skills necessary to practise independently as a GP in the UK in order to ensure patient safety.'”

  RCGP chair · Medical ethics & regulation · 30 Sept 2026 · MRCGP assessment pass mark too low, academics tell GMC ↗

• “This report makes for very difficult reading – it is disheartening to see the number of patients who report negative experiences in primary care. It is critical that all branches of our health service, including general practice, take every necessary measure to prevent this kind of behaviour.”

  RCGP chair · Women's health & gynaecology · 29 Sept 2026 · Patients experiencing ‘deeply concerning’ levels of discrimination in primary care ↗

• “"Working to address health inequalities is a strategic priority for the college."”

  chair of the Royal College of GPs · Women's health & gynaecology · 29 Sept 2026 · White women most likely to get HRT prescriptions in England, study finds ↗

• “GPs understand that menopause can have a significant impact on health and wellbeing, so it's vital that women feel comfortable discussing their symptoms with their GP.”

  RCGP chair · Maternity & neonatal · 10 Sept 2026 · Menopause questions to be added to NHS Health Checks ↗

• “Any new interventions that may help patients manage their symptoms more easily and in a safe and effective way would be welcome.”

  chair of the Royal College of GPs · Respiratory (asthma/COPD) · 10 Sept 2026 · Severe asthma can be controlled by a monthly injection, trial finds ↗

• “As with any emerging research, it's important the findings are carefully assessed and considered as clinical guidelines, which GPs use in their daily practice, are developed and updated, based on the latest evidence to ensure safety and benefit for patients.”

  RCGP chair · Respiratory (asthma/COPD) · 10 Sept 2026 · Half of severe asthma patients started on tezepelumab able to stop oral steroids ↗

• “Winter pressures affect general practice, just as they do hospitals, so it's deeply concerning to hear so few ICBs appear to have allocated additional winter funding to our service, despite the well-documented surge in demand we always face at this time of year.”

  Past RCGP chair · Respiratory (asthma/COPD) · 10 Sept 2026 · Only nine ICBs confirm extra funding for general practice this winter ↗

• “While evidence shows that antidepressants can be a safe and effective treatment for some patients, like any medication they are not without side effects which can vary from patient to patient – and as this research lays out, these can sometimes be physical and include weight gain.”

  RCGP chair · Heart disease & stroke · 10 Sept 2026 · Antidepressants vary widely in physical side effects including weight gain ↗

• “With workforce and workload pressures across general practice, the responsibility associated with the issuing and management of long-term certification can consume valuable GP time, and we are not always best placed to provide the wider care, including occupational health support and communication with employers, that patients often need, so this move makes sense.”

  RCGP chair · GP access · 10 Sept 2026 · GP fit notes should be replaced by employer-funded assessment, says Government review ↗

• “Despite record numbers of newly-qualified doctors starting GP training in England in recent years, the NHS's inability to retain family doctors meant that new recruits were 'pouring into a leaking bucket'.”

  Chair of the Royal College of GPs · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · One in three GPs in England do not work in NHS, says BMJ study ↗

• “We don't have the workforce to manage this safely or give the continuity of care that we know benefits patients.”

  Chair of the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Dangerous shortage of medics threatens safe patient care in England, top GP says ↗

• “No GP will ever want to miss signs of serious illness, such as cancer. Ensuring a timely diagnosis often means better outcomes for patients – but many conditions, including many cancers, are challenging to identify in primary care because the symptoms are often similar to other, less serious and more common conditions.”

  Chair of the Royal College of GPs · Cancer · 27 Aug 2026 · English GPs adopt ‘Jess’s rule’ to help ensure they do not miss serious illnesses ↗

• “The first step will be to take a careful medical and family history. Often this conversation is the most important part of the consultation, where we can discuss why the patient is requesting a test, and the risks and benefits of conducting [a PSA test].”

  chair of the Royal College of GPs · Cancer · 27 Aug 2026 · What is prostate cancer and should I be worried if I wee a lot at night? ↗

• “Today's decision by the NSC not to recommend whole-population screening of men for prostate cancer reflects the lack of evidence that PSA blood testing is reliable enough to detect prostate cancer that needs treatment.”

  chair of the Royal College of GPs · Cancer · 27 Aug 2026 · Expert panel advises against prostate cancer screening for most men in UK ↗

Where Prof Kamila Hawthorne has been quoted

1. Healthier lives and a healthier NHS: the role of social prescribingkingsfund.org.uk · 4 Oct 2026
2. Patients in poorer areas to get better access to GPsgov.uk · 30 Sept 2026
3. NHS data reveal 'collapse' in GP jobs in Englandgponline.com · 30 Sept 2026
4. MRCGP assessment pass mark too low, academics tell GMCpulsetoday.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
5. Patients experiencing ‘deeply concerning’ levels of discrimination in primary carepulsetoday.co.uk · 29 Sept 2026
6. White women most likely to get HRT prescriptions in England, study findstheguardian.com · 29 Sept 2026
7. Menopause questions to be added to NHS Health Checkspulsetoday.co.uk · 10 Sept 2026
8. Severe asthma can be controlled by a monthly injection, trial findstheguardian.com · 10 Sept 2026
9. Half of severe asthma patients started on tezepelumab able to stop oral steroidspulsetoday.co.uk · 10 Sept 2026
10. Only nine ICBs confirm extra funding for general practice this winterpulsetoday.co.uk · 10 Sept 2026
11. Antidepressants vary widely in physical side effects including weight gainpulsetoday.co.uk · 10 Sept 2026
12. GP fit notes should be replaced by employer-funded assessment, says Government reviewpulsetoday.co.uk · 10 Sept 2026
13. One in three GPs in England do not work in NHS, says BMJ studytheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
14. Dangerous shortage of medics threatens safe patient care in England, top GP saystheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
15. English GPs adopt ‘Jess’s rule’ to help ensure they do not miss serious illnessestheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
16. What is prostate cancer and should I be worried if I wee a lot at night?theguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
17. Expert panel advises against prostate cancer screening for most men in UKtheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Related media coverage

Recent UK press coverage of their topics — not necessarily citing them directly.

• 'Terminal prostate cancer has taught me one lesson I want to pass on'BBC
• You have a higher chance of getting cancer at a younger age than your parents. So what went wrong? | Devi SridharThe Guardian
• Mental Health Foundation unveils next leaderThird Sector

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://www.swansea.ac.uk/staff/kamila.hawthorne/
• Staff pagehttps://www.kingsfund.org.uk/about-us/our-people/professor-kamila-hawthorne-mbe
• Press office emailpress@rcgp.org.ukpublished here ↗
• Press office phone020 3188 7659published here ↗

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.