Prof Kamila HawthorneClinician

Biography

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

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

Expertise

Cited on

• Hospital discharge / bed-blocking
• Cancer

Stated areas of expertise

• GP workforce and workload policy
• Health inequalities
• Diabetes and chronic disease in ethnic minority communities
• Medical education
• Primary care sustainability
• Cultural diversity in healthcare

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 they’ve said

• “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].”

Source references

1. One in three GPs in England do not work in NHS, says BMJ studytheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
2. Dangerous shortage of medics threatens safe patient care in England, top GP saystheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
3. English GPs adopt ‘Jess’s rule’ to help ensure they do not miss serious illnessestheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
4. What is prostate cancer and should I be worried if I wee a lot at night?theguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
5. Expert panel advises against prostate cancer screening for most men in UKtheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

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.