Anaesthetists and intensivists recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours 2026

Congratulations to members of the Royal College of Anaesthetists and Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine, who have been recognised in the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours today.

This recognition of our colleagues for their services to patients, their specialties and the NHS is very well-deserved. Our congratulations go to everyone honoured today, including our members listed below. 

Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)

  • Professor Iain Moppett, Professor of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, University of Nottingham and Chair, Centre for Research and Improvement, Royal College of Anaesthetists. Awarded an OBE for services to Perioperative Care.

Iain trained as an anaesthetist, is an internationally recognised clinical academic, and has focused much of his career on improving the care of older people through research, quality improvement and direct clinical care. He led the development of the Nottingham Hip Fracture Score which remains the most widely validated and used tool for predicting adverse events after hip fracture surgery. He was Chief Investigator for SNAP-3, which is the largest prospective study of frailty and delirium in the general surgical population and led to an important shift in understanding of the impact of frailty on outcomes after surgery.   

Professor Moppett led the development of the 2nd version of the National Safety Standards for Invasive Procedures (NatSSIPs2) commissioned by NHS England, which sets the standard for how all operating room teams should care for patients having surgery. These standards are now embedded in every provider of NHS-funded invasive procedures across the UK.

Alongside his own career, Iain has also developed the careers of multiple early career researchers. He has held multiple leadership roles for the Centre for Research and Improvement at the Royal College of Anaesthetists and is currently its Chair.  

Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) 

  • Professor Stephen Brett, Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Professor of Critical Care, Imperial College London. Awarded an MBE for services to Critical Illness and Intensive Care Medicine.  

Stephen is a leading expert in Intensive Care Medicine in the UK, with an international reputation for his research into military and civilian trauma-related critical illness injury. He started his career as Regimental Medical Officer to 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, training in intensive care medicine and anaesthesia before moving to the NHS.

In 1998 he was appointed Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine at the Hammersmith Hospital becoming Head of Service and later promoted to a Chair of Critical Care Medicine in 2016. Throughout his clinical practice, Professor Brett has simultaneously had a successful and impactful career in research.    

In 2001 Stephen established one of the first ICU follow-up clinics in the UK. During the Covid-19 pandemic, he was the only active clinician invited to join the SAGE modelling subcommittee. He has been closely involved with the UK Intensive Care Society for many years, chairing its charitable foundation before being elected as President (2014-16). During his tenure as President, Professor Brett collaborated closely with the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine to develop and improve professional standards across the specialty.

  • Dr Carl Waldmann, Lately Director, Intensive Care Unit, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust.  Awarded an MBE for services to Critically Ill Patients in the NHS.

Alongside his role as a Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine, Dr Waldmann has contributed both nationally and internationally to the care of critically ill patients by developing intensive care training, standards of practice, safety interventions and clinical research. His PRaCTICaL study (2009) showed the need to individualise rehabilitation programmes and contributed to the creation of best practice guidelines by NICE. 

Carl was elected President of the UK Intensive Care Society (ICS) for 2007-9 and in 2012 was elected as UK representative to the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine.  In 2016 he was elected Dean of the UK Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine, where he led the development of national standards for Intensive Care Services, later used by the Care Quality Commission for benchmarking ICUs across the UK.  

Dr Waldmann’s Oxford Desk Reference for Critical Care is a frequently and widely used resource. Among many contributions to patient safety, he introduced intracranial pressure monitoring to UK ICUs, thereby minimising unnecessary patient transfers to neurosurgical centres.  Carl was the recipient of the Defence Military Anaesthesia and Critical Care tri-service medal in 2010 and was awarded honorary life membership of the UK ICS in 2013.

  • Dr Arun Gupta, Consultant in Anaesthesia and NeuroCritical Care, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Director, Cambridge Digital Health and Surgical Training Centre and Affiliated Associate Professor, University of Cambridge. Awarded an MBE for services to Medical Education.  
  • Dr Michael McBrien, Consultant Anaesthetist, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust. Awarded an MBE for Voluntary Service.

Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM)

  • Dr Katie Misselbrook, Consultant Anaesthetist, Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust. Awarded a BEM for services to Children and Young People.