Award for devotion to healthcare

Dr Gillian Leng, deputy chief executive and director of evidence and practice at the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), was given the award for her services to the NHS.

Gillian, who lives in Haynes and has previously worked as a public health medicine consultant at the Bedfordshire Health Authority, is also an editor of the Cochrane Review Group on peripheral vascular diseases.

She is an honorary senior lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and her research interests include methods for evaluating and reviewing evidence, clinical trials and implementation science.

Her role as director of evidence and practice at NICE makes her responsible for NHS Evidence, a service designed to improve use of and access to evidence-based information about health and social care.

She is also involved with the NICE implementation programme, which supports key organisations within and outside the NHS to maximise uptake and use of evidence and guidance.

In her deputy chief executive role Gillian is involved with strategic planning.

NICE provides guidance, sets quality standards and manages a national database to improve people’s health and prevent and treat ill health.