King’s Birthday Honours list celebrates Imperial academics

Two members of Imperial's community have been recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours list for 2026.

This year’s list, published as part of the King’s Official Birthday celebrations, honours two academics from Imperial’s Faculty of Medicine for their achievements in healthcare.

The recipients for Imperial this year are: 

• Professor Tim Orchard, Chief Executive of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Professor of Gastroenterology in Imperial’s Faculty of Medicine, receives a CBE for services to the NHS and healthcare research and innovation.
• Professor Stephen Brett, Professor of Critical Care in the Faculty of Medicine, receives an MBE for critical illness and intensive care medicine.

Professor Tim Orchard CBE

Professor Tim Orchard, Chief Executive of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust since 2018 and now Group Chief Executive for the whole of the North West London Acute Provider Group, has been awarded a CBE for services to the NHS and healthcare research and innovation.

"I’m so proud of what our team has achieved at Imperial College Healthcare over the past eight years with – and for – our patients and local communities." Professor Tim Orchard Chief Executive of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

Under his leadership, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust has extended its long-standing reputation for excellence in research, safety and outcomes, while addressing significant operational and financial issues, enabling the Trust to become a consistent top performer in the NHS oversight framework rankings.

Alongside this work, Professor Orchard continues to practise as a consultant gastroenterologist and as Professor of Gastroenterology in Imperial's Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction. As well as progressing research and teaching in his specialist field of inflammatory bowel disease, he has further developed the relationship between Imperial and the Trust, which includes hosting the largest NIHR biomedical research centre in the UK.

Commenting on his honour, Professor Orchard said: “I’m so proud of what our team has achieved at Imperial College Healthcare over the past eight years with – and for – our patients and local communities. Formally coming together with our acute provider partners across North West London is now helping all of us to deliver even more and this Honour provides a wonderful, additional boost!”

Professor Stephen Brett MBE

Professor Stephen Brett is Professor of Critical Care in Imperial’s Department of Surgery and Cancer and a consultant in intensive care medicine at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. He leads a programme of patient-focused projects along the entirety of the patient journey, including resuscitation, surgery and critical illness. These projects range from epidemiology and public health, through clinical trials, to the evaluation of the impact of surgery on chronic diseases and technology.

"It has been fantastic to see the progress intensive care medicine has made in both clinical and academic fields, and how much greater awareness there is of the struggles our patients face, both during and after their time in the intensive care unit." Professor Stephen Brett Professor of Critical Care at Imperial

More recently, he has been using social science methodology to explore patient experience, how hospital teams function, and how critical decisions are made in acute care.

Professor Brett is a former President of the Intensive Care Society and previous Editor of the journal Critical Care. In addition to these roles, he has served on a number of Department of Health and Social Care advisory groups and provides support to clinical trials and studies run by other universities.

Professor Brett said: “I was delighted to hear that I had been nominated for an award. Reflecting on my career thus far, it has been fantastic to see the progress intensive care medicine has made in both clinical and academic fields, and how much greater awareness there is of the struggles our patients face, both during and after their time in the intensive care unit.

“I have had the privilege of working with so many fantastic people who contribute to what I do; the people around us are always essential to the progress we make.”