Dr Binita Kane, a respiratory consultant at Manchester University won the South Asian Leader Award for 2022 at the first Asian Professionals National Alliance NHS (APNA) award ceremony earlier this year.
The award recognised her revolutionary work for South Asian Heritage Month (SAHM) and for ensuring that the history of British people of South Asian descent is documented and celebrated. This year marks the fourth anniversary of South Asian Heritage Month(SAHM), the brainchild of Dr Kane and Jasvir Singh.
Reacting to the award, Kane said, “It’s amazing to have this work recognised across the NHS nationally, I just feel really honoured. There was so much competition in my category, so I was a little bit surprised too. I co-founded South Asian Heritage Month after taking part in the 2017 BBC documentary called “My Family, Partition and Me.”
"The NHS workforce was built on the waves of immigration that happened after the Second World War. Britain was very much depleted of a workforce and people like my father, who was a physician, were encouraged to come over to England in the 1950s, 60s and 70s by being given British citizenship. They became a fundamental part of building the NHS into the great institution it is,” she added.
SAHM was created to celebrate, commemorate and educate about the rich histories that link the UK with the South Asian countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. APNA is a voluntary organisation of NHS health and social care leaders of South Asian descent. The word “APNA” means “Our” in several South Asian languages.
