Shropshire NHS chiefs considering whether to remove former consultant’s name from hospital ward after he was stripped of MBE

Earlier this week it was confirmed that the MBE received by Nigel Timothy James O’Connor was “cancelled and annulled” by a direction from the King.

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Dr O’Connor set up the Shropshire Blood Trust and the O’Connor Haematology Unit at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital was named after him. It still carries his name.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service asked trust leaders at a board meeting on Thursday (March 12) whether Dr O’Connor’s name will be removed from the ward following the King’s decision.

Jo Williams, the group chief executive of The Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust said the trust is carrying out a wider review of how it names wards. But there had been “no decisions yet”.

A trust spokesperson said the trust is carrying out a review of the way it names wards as a part of its massive hospital transformation programme.

The new building being constructed at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital means there is an opportunity for SaTH to review all its wards and how they are named.

Ms Williams said: “We will be reviewing all buildings that are named after individuals.

“But we have not made a decision.”

On social media there has been a strong level of support for Dr O’Connor from his former patients.

But Dr O’Connor was one of a number of recipients to have their names erased from the honours’ board this week.

An official announcement on the official Gazette stated: “The King has directed that the appointment of Nigel Timothy James O’Connor to be a Member of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, dated 13 June 2015 shall be cancelled and annulled and that his name shall be erased from the Register of the said order.”