A GP who was recently appointed as the new CQC chief inspector of primary care has been recognised in the 2025 King’s Birthday Honours list.

Professor Bola Owolabi CBE, a GP and director of inequalities at NHS England, was awarded a CBE ‘for her services to reducing health inequalities’. 

She served as director of the National Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Programme at NHS England, where she spearheaded the Core20PLUS5 approach, which was designed to reduce healthcare inequalities at a national and local level.

Professor Owolabi said: ‘It is a great honour to be recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours as Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE).

‘This stands as a legacy of the work to address health inequalities by driving forward a powerful vision of exceptional quality healthcare for all, ensuring equitable access, excellent experience and optimal outcomes.’

The Gilead & Kite Campaigner for Health Equity Award was awarded to Professor Bola Owolabi by Clara Amfo. Bola is a GP and director of the Health Inequalities and Improvement Team, working to reduce disparities in access and outcome for NHS treatment.

Professor Bola Owolabi said “It’s both an honour and a privilege to be a recipient of the Gilead Woman of the Year Award. Tackling health inequalities is complex work and requires a super-matrix way of working involving action across multiple organisations and sectors. The NHS England National Healthcare Inequalities team which I have the privilege of leading have provided clarity of vision, ambition, and direction in this space, which has in turn galvanised whole system energy and momentum to drive change. I dedicate this Award wholeheartedly to my team.”

Dr Véronique Walsh, General Manager & VP, UK & Ireland, Gilead Sciences, said “Professor Bola’s commitment to eliminating health inequalities serves as an inspiration to us all. She works tirelessly to ensure that those unseen and unheard communities and individuals in the margins are helped and can access support. Too often many in society face disparities in their health outcomes, so Bola’s Core20PLUS5 is a critical approach to addressing inequalities and gives us all the agency to act and make a change.