Pioneering surgeon and champion of medical diversity Professor Farah Bhatti OBE has been elected by BMA members to serve as the association’s latest president.

Professor Bhatti (pictured above), who was formally appointed at last month’s annual representative meeting in Brighton, is the 194th president in the association’s history and replaces outgoing president John Chisholm.

After studying medicine at Oxford and Cambridge, Professor Bhatti gained her medical qualification in 1990 and, in her clinical career, went on to achieve a series of notable firsts.

These include becoming the first female consultant cardiac surgeon in Wales and the first British woman of Pakistani heritage appointed to this position in the UK and making important research contributions in the field of cardiac and renal transplantation.

Professor Bhatti has also made significant contributions to medical education serving as an honorary Professor at Swansea University Medical School and as the student engagement lead at the Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery in Great Britain and Ireland.

A long-standing member of the Royal College of Surgeons England, Professor Bhatti has served in a number of roles in the college, including chair of the Women in Surgery Forum and lead for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

For her contributions to healthcare and championing of diversity in the NHS Professor Bhatti was awarded an OBE in 2021.

Describing her election to office as an ‘incredible honour’, Professor Bhatti pledged to use her one-year term to ‘advocate, enable and empower’ all doctors to be able to provide excellent medical care.

She said: ‘I look forward to advocating for all our hard-working doctors to enable and empower them to provide the excellent medical care our patients deserve.

‘Thank you to my family and friends for their continued support in my endeavours to serve my profession.’