Patrick Vernon Featured in HSJ’s Top 50 BAME Powerlist 2025

The Health Service Journal (HSJ) has unveiled its Top 50 Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Powerlist 2025, celebrating the visionaries driving equity, inclusion, and innovation across the UK’s healthcare sector. The list, sponsored by the NHS Race and Health Observatory, recognises those whose leadership and advocacy continue to shape a fairer, more representative health system.

Among those featured is Patrick Vernon, who has long been at the forefront of health equality and social justice. As the HSJ notes:

“Mr Vernon is one of the few ICB chairs who have a high public profile outside the NHS. He was a broadcaster, public commentator and activist who has featured on a Vogue cover. He was originally appointed to the board to specifically lead on inequalities and took up the chair’s role on an interim basis, being made permanent in January 2024. However, he has been left without an obvious role as the new ICB cluster – which now includes the Black Country ICB – will be chaired by Danielle Oum. In the pandemic’s early days, he set up the Majonzi Fund to provide small grants to families from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds who needed bereavement counselling and to hold memorial events after lockdown eased. He is a former non-executive director of Hertfordshire Partnership University FT, Camden and Islington FT and Healthwatch England.

He was born in Wolverhampton and has played an active part in civic life there, including pushing for a blue plaque for immigrant rights activist Paulette Wilson.”

Read it Here