NHS Lanarkshire has congratulated its Chair, Neena Mahal on being awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.
Neena, who has been the Chair of NHS Lanarkshire since 2013 and a Non-Executive Member of the Board for eight years prior to that, is receiving the honour for services to healthcare.
Neena said: “I am humbled and deeply honoured to receive this recognition. It has come as a total surprise and I am grateful to whoever nominated me for this honour. I have been enormously proud and privileged to lead NHS Lanarkshire and I want to pay tribute to my colleagues and the staff of NHS Lanarkshire for their achievements, efforts and support. I would also like to thank my wonderful family for all their encouragement and backing over the years. This would not have been possible without them.”
Heather Knox, chief executive of NHS Lanarkshire, said: “On behalf of colleagues at NHS Lanarkshire I would like to congratulate Neena on this richly deserved honour. It is recognition of the outstanding contribution she makes not only as Chair of NHS Lanarkshire, but through the valued input she has made and continues to make across a wide range of organisations locally and nationally.
“Neena’s commitment to delivering the very best for our population consistently shines through in every meeting and conversation. Her passion and drive have been at the beating heart of NHS Lanarkshire throughout her time on the Board We are delighted to see her included in the honours list.”
Neena has made a contribution to the NHS for 17 years starting as a Non-Executive Board Member and then becoming Chair of NHS Lanarkshire. In that time, as well as leading the Board through a number of challenges, including the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, she has contributed to a number of national areas of work. This has included supporting the implementation of the NHS Blueprint for Corporate Governance, leading on work to improve Diversity on Boards and Development programmes for Board Members.
Neena started her career as a qualified careers guidance adviser and has also worked in the field of promoting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. She is passionate about supporting people to fulfil their potential through personal development and mentoring and has experience in working with disadvantaged communities.
She has considerable experience in corporate governance and strategic management, having served on the Boards of various Public Bodies, charitable and voluntary sector organisations over the last 30 years. This has included the Broadcasting Council for Scotland, National Museums Scotland, BBC Children in Need and The Glasgow Academy, where she was Chair of the Education Committee.
She is a Lay Governor on the Court of Glasgow Caledonian University and is Chair of the People Committee.
Neena was honoured to have been commissioned as a Depute Lieutenant for Lanarkshire in 2014 and is Vice Chair of the Lieutenancy’s Community and Voluntary Organisations Committee.
Neena is due to leave NHS Lanarkshire when her current term as Chair ends on 30 June this year.