Welsh GP recognised with new year’s honour

Twm Owen – Local democracy reporter

A Welsh GP has said recognition for general practice is the “best bit” about receiving a New Year’s Honour.

Dr Rowena Christmas has been named an MBE in the honours list “for services to general practice”.

The Monmouthshire doctor, who is the chair of the Royal College of GPs in Wales, said: “I think that citation is the best bit about it. I’ve worked in my practice in Trellech for 25 years and I know my patients very well and general practice is what I’m passionate about.

“When we do our jobs well we can treat patients closer to home, reduce hospital admissions and take pressure off the NHS.”

Vulnerable

As chair of the representative body for GPs for the past three years Dr Christmas, who is based at the Wye Valley GP Practice in the village where she also lives with husband Gavin and their two sons, said she has done a lot of work on helping safeguard the vulnerable and supporting children back to school following the pandemic.

An increasing number of children are struggling to leave their homes, said Dr Christmas: “That is something that has really changed since the pandemic, there are far more children not able to go into school for a range of reasons and they are more likely to be children from more deprived backgrounds who do not necessarily have bedrooms full of books or parents able to be there for them and they are often entitled to free school meals so there may not be food in the house. They are very vulnerable.”

The 53-year-old, who is originally from Llandeilo in West Wales, studied at St George’s Hospital in London and qualified as a doctor in 1995 training in Ross-on-Wye before working in Trellech.

“I grew up in Llandeilo and thought it would be nice to have a bit of time in the big smoke but Wales is very sticky and you tend to come back if you’ve grown up here.”

‘Delighted’

Dr Christmas said she was “delighted” with the MBE after receiving a “big letter from the Cabinet Office that made my heart go up”.

She added: “I realise I shouldn’t tell anybody but I have told my husband.”

Also honoured with an MBE is Monmouth resident Roger Evans who is the chairman of charity Friends of Friendless Churches.

“It’s a tribute to Friends of Friendless Churches a very effective charity that now looks after somewhere in the region of 65 redundant churches, half of them in Wales, and has gone from strength to strength in recent years,” said Mr Evans.

“I’m part of a team and I’m delighted the team has been recognised.”

Award

The 77-year-old, who still practices as a barrister working in property, was the Conservative MP for Monmouth, from 1992 to 1997. He has been the chair of the charity since 1998 and involved with it for some 40 years. His award is for services to ecclesiastical heritage in England and Wales.

He said: “It’s very sad sight to see the Church in Wales or the Church of England close buildings, some totally inappropriately, and we try to save them so they can be preserved and enjoyed as monuments.”

In Monmouthshire, the charity cares for churches at Llanfair Kilgeddin, Llangeview, Gwernesney, Llangwm Uchaf, Llangattock Vibon Avel and Llangua where it has been awarded £600,000 to restore the building that features a 15th century “barell roof” that Mr Evans said was “about to collapse”.

He said: “It’s a very exciting project and the building was in danger of collapse”.

Others from Monmouthshire recognised in the New Year’s Honours are Amy-Claire Elisabeth Mason, chief executive officer and director general, HM Prison and Probation Service, who is made a CB for public service while Robert Michael Denman the governor of HM Prison Usk and Prescoed, has an OBE for public service.

Jonathan Charlesworth, co-founder and executive director of Educational Action Challenging Homophobia, from Abergavenny, is made an MBE for services to education, health, criminal justice and HM Government.

Carole Evelynne Hopkins, from Caldicot, also has an MBE  for services to the community in Magor.