Patrick Vernon OBE named among HSJ’s Top 50 most influential Black, Asian and minority ethnic leaders in health
Patrick Vernon OBE named among HSJ’s Top 50 most influential Black, Asian and minority ethnic leaders in health
Professor Patrick Vernon OBE is Engagement Ambassador for NHS Birmingham and Solihull NHS Integrated Care Board (BSol ICB), having previously served as the ICB’s Chair from January 2023 to October 2025. He was the first Non-Executive Director for Inequalities to be appointed to an ICB in the country, while he currently is Chair of the Walsall Together Partnership Board working to create happier partnership working in the locality.
In 2012, he received an Order of the British Empire for his work on tackling health inequalities and ethnic minority communities. In 2019, he was awarded a lifetime achievement award for campaigning and advocacy work by the Sheila McKechnie Foundation and in April 2025 he was appointed Pro-Chancellor for Health at the University of Wolverhampton.
Patrick is a former Non-Executive Director for Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust and Healthwatch England. In 2020, he established the Majonzi Fund, which is providing grants to families and community organisations to hold commemoration events for individuals from Black and racialised communities who have died from COVID-19 during the pandemic.
Patrick was selected by British Vogue as one of Britain’s top 20 campaigners and was included in the 2020 power list of 100 influential Black People in Britain. Also in 2020, Patrick co-authored 100 Great Black Britons. Patrick is a sought-after broadcaster, public speaker and writes blogs and articles for the national and international media on healthcare, cultural heritage and race.
In October Patrick was appointed Patron of Nafsiyat is a pioneering charity offering trauma-informed intercultural therapy in over 20 languages to people from diverse cultural communities.