The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the professional body responsible for setting and raising standards in psychiatry. Each year it holds an awards ceremony to recognise outstanding achievements in mental health. During the annual RCPsych Awards, the President of the College selects a small number of people who have contributed to policy, public knowledge and education, while meeting the needs of the population across diverse geographies and circumstances. The award is approved by the College’s Nominations Committee.
In 2025, President Dr Lade Smith CBE presented the medal to nine individuals who have improved the lives of people with mental illness. She described these people as “truly stunning and inspiring to the profession.”
Amar was one of the nine recipients. He has been the Chief Quality Officer at ELFT since 2017, leading on quality, performance, data, strategy and other areas, and has led the Trust's quality improvement approach since its inception in 2013. He is the first National Clinical Director for Improvement at NHS England, applying quality improvement (QI) across health and care nationally. Amar is the Royal College of Psychiatrists' national improvement lead, chairing the QI committee and leading large-scale QI programmes on areas such as workforce wellbeing, equity and culture of care. In 2024, he was awarded an MBE for services to healthcare improvement.
When receiving his award, Prof Amar Shah said: “15 years ago, there were real questions about whether quality improvement could be applicable or appropriate in the world of mental health. Fast forward to today, it is incredible to see the breadth and scale of improvement work in the field of mental health.
“It has been a real privilege to play a small role in the growth of this over the past 15 years through my roles at the Trust, the College and now outside the realms of mental health across England’s health and care system.
“Thank you to the College, under the leadership of Dr Lade Smith and (former President) Dr Adrian James for supporting the creation of a quality improvement function, which has led work on important areas such as restrictive practice, sexual safety, equity, workforce wellbeing and culture of care.
“The real thanks needs to go to the clinicians, service users, carers and staff who have brought their wisdom and their creativity and used the route of quality improvement to make care better.”
You can learn more about this year’s winners on the RCPsych website.