A leading Birmingham hospital consultant has been awarded a prestigious honour in recognition of his outstanding service to surgery.

Professor Sir Keith Porter, a consultant at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB), has been at the forefront of developing world-class treatment for injured military servicemen and women for more than a decade.

He is the UK’s only Professor of Clinical Traumatology, and was recognised with a knighthood in last year’s New Year’s Honours List for his services to the Armed Forces.

Sir Keith was also honoured by the city of Birmingham on 16 June 2011 – the first anniversary of the opening of QEHB – when his name was added to Broad Street’s Walk of Stars.

He has now received a top accolade from his peers, by being awarded The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Medal.

A spokesman for the College said the medal was in recognition of Fellows of the College who have given outstanding service to the institution or to surgery in general.

He said Sir Keith was also chairman of the College’s Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care (FPHC), which was established in 1996 to set and promote standards in pre-hospital care.

The FPHC runs a number of courses and seminars each year to bring together all participants in pre-hospital care for education, research and professional development, and also runs exams in Immediate Medical Care.

Sir Keith, who was presented with his medal by College President David Tolley, said it was a “great honour” to be recognised in such a way.

He added: “I am privileged to be the civilian lead for a service that is highly tuned and fully engaged in the care of injured soldiers. However, I am just one of a number of people who have helped improve the quality of care for patients through evidence-based learning, innovation and multi-disciplinary team working. They deserve great credit too.

“I am proud of the efforts of the military and NHS teams that work side-by-side to deliver excellent outcomes for patients who had previously non-survivable injuries.

“And this experience of treating military patients, with extremely complex injuries, has also had a positive impact on the care of our NHS patients, with improved survivability and more rapid recovery, particularly in polytrauma cases.”

Photo by Derek Irvine