Lord Patel awarded doctorate for contribution to public life

The University of East London has awarded Professor the Lord Patel of Bradford OBE an honorary doctorate in social sciences in recognition of his lifelong commitment to justice, health equity and public service.

The social reformer and member of the House of Lords was presented with his honorary degree during a graduation ceremony at UEL’s Docklands Campus, where he addressed students entering professions across health, education and social care.

Lord Patel told the audience, “I’ve been fortunate to serve in public life, working with governments, advising national bodies and shaping frontline services. But what always mattered most is trying to leave things a little bit better than when I found them.”

A qualified social worker, Lord Patel began his career in inner-city Bradford, where he founded pioneering services for people facing mental health challenges and substance misuse. He has described those early years as formative, saying,

Growing up in Bradford in the 1960s and 1970s, I saw first-hand what inequality and exclusion looked like. It was those experiences that taught me the value of perseverance, dignity, and community. That’s where my passion for social justice was born.”

Over the decades, he has shaped national policy and public services. He led the government’s Delivering Race Equality in Mental Health programme and authored the Patel Report on prison drug treatment, both considered milestones in British healthcare reform. He has chaired the Mental Health Act Commission, Social Work England, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and holds senior roles including Vice President of the British Board of Film Classification and Chair of the UK Advisory Board of Cygnet Healthcare.

Appointed to the House of Lords in 2006, Lord Patel has advised successive governments on health and social policy, while also working internationally to build partnerships across India, the Middle East and Europe. His career has been recognised with honours including an OBE for services to ethnic minority health, the “Glory of India” Award, and “Yorkshire Man of the Year.”

Reflecting on his long association with universities, Lord Patel highlighted his support for UEL’s new Health Campus, which he described as “a blueprint for how education and wellbeing must go hand in hand.”

He left graduates with this message, “Your journey doesn’t have to be perfect to have meaning. Your starting point doesn’t determine your destination. What matters is how you move forward, with integrity, with courage, and with care for others. Stay grounded, stay kind and never forget your roots. My coat of arms is a motto that I’ve lived by all my life. ‘Where there’s a will, there’s always a way. ’ Go well and go with purpose.”