Head of Service for Tower Hamlets Contraception and Sexual Health Services (THCASH) receives MBE for outstanding services to women and young people
Dr Geetha Subramanian, Head of Service for the Barts Health NHS Trust-run Tower Hamlets Contraception and Sexual Health Services (THCASH), has been awarded an MBE in the Queen's New Year Honours List for her services to women and young people.
(Media-Newswire.com) - Dr Geetha Subramanian, Head of Service for the Barts Health NHS Trust-run Tower Hamlets Contraception and Sexual Health Services ( THCASH ), has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours List for her services to women and young people.
Geetha, who has worked in women’s community health services in Tower Hamlets for more than 27 years, said: “I am surprised but very pleased to receive this MBE, which I am accepting on behalf of the dedicated team I work with at THCASH who have been instrumental in making these services for women and young people some of the best in the country.”
Welcoming the news, Barts Health Chief Executive Peter Morris, said: “I am delighted that Dr Subramanian has received an MBE for her many years of service to public health. Barts Health is committed to changing the lives of people from East London and beyond and the dedicated work of Geetha and her team at THCASH is an excellent example of the positive difference community health services can make.”
Alwen Williams, Chief Executive for NHS North East London and the City NHS PCT which ran THCASH before it became part of Barts Health NHS Trust in 2012, said: “Geetha has made an exceptional contribution to women’s health, locally and nationally. Her work has improved the lives of countless women and young people in east London over decades, and her leadership and determination means women benefit from a service geared to meeting local needs.”
Dr. Geetha Subramanian has been working as a community gynaecologist in the borough of Tower Hamlets since 1986 and today is the Head of Service for THCASH. Under her leadership, THCASH has emerged as one of the country’s most effective and innovative community contraception and sexual health services.
With the support of a committed team, Geetha has taken the initiative to establish new services such as early medical abortion, the reversal of Female Genital Mutilation ( FGM ) and the provision of religious and cultural male circumcision for babies from the local Muslim community, as well as creating a team dedicated to engaging with young people to reduce teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. This work resulted in the highest reduction in the rate of teenage pregnancies of all London PCTs and the second highest reduction in the country between 1998 and 2008.
Geetha, who is from India and is a native Tamil speaker herself, has also championed the provision of multi-lingual health workers to engage with women from the wide range of BME communities represented across the borough.
Geetha was chosen in 2007 for the ‘Asian Women of Achievement’ award in the Public Sector category, sponsored by the Department of Community and Local Government, in recognition of her continued and significant services to the women and young people of Tower Hamlets.
In her spare time Geetha regularly volunteers with a variety of organisations working with different ethnic minorities by holding workshops on issues relating to women’s health. She has also given talks on women’s health issues in Tamil language radio programmes for a Europe-wide Tamil-speaking community.
As a parent, Geetha was concerned about the lack of opportunities for children from ethnic minority background in her sons’ secondary school in Orpington, Kent. She wanted to help them to be proud of their cultural roots and to be able to exhibit their talents. She worked hard to bring this issue to the attention of the Headmaster and the Governing body and successfully established an annual multicultural event, produced by the students, guided and supported by parents and teachers and praised by Ofsted.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
With a turnover of £1.1 billion and a workforce of 15,000, Barts Health is the largest NHS trust in the country, and one of Britain’s leading healthcare providers.The trust’s five hospitals – St Bartholomew’s ( Barts ) Hospital in the City, The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, The London Chest Hospital in Bethnal Green, Newham University Hospital in Plaistow and Whipps Cross University Hospital in Leytonstone – deliver high quality compassionate care to the 2.5 million people of east London and beyond.
NHS North East London and the City is a group of primary care trusts, including Tower Hamlets PCT, which commissions NHS health services on behalf of local people.
Published by:
Release Date
This story was released on 2013-01-06. Please make sure to visit the official company or organization web site to learn more about the original release date. See our disclaimer for additional information.
