Having a chat with the Queen of England sounds like something out of a dream, but chatting with the Queen while she pins an MBE (Member of the British Order of the Empire) medal on you is even more surreal. For Mercy Jeyasingham, though this was reality.
Mercy was welcomed into the Order by Queen Elizabeth II last year (2009) and is now among the select member of Sri Lankans who have had this honour bestowed upon them. The award is the fifth class honour in the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, the first class honour being knighthood. Mercy, 49, is non-executive director of the board of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and received the award for her exemplary work in charities to improve the lives of many, particularly in the field of healthcare.
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Mercy says it was an unexpected honour and she is still unsure as to who nominated her for the award, though she suspects it might have been her colleagues at NICE. She has been a part of NICE since 2001, making her one of the longest serving members at the institute, where she has contributed in setting clinical standards for public health. “An average doctor would have to go through about 9 to 10 articles a day to be kept abreast with the latest and best treatments that are available around the world,” explains Mercy. “NICE puts these together and advises doctors on what treatments are best in health care. We also make sure what the government is putting into health care is being utilized properly,” she says, adding “NICE has asked me to continue my work helping them set standards in health care.”
Speaking about the state of health care in Britain, she says it has come a long way since she entered the field but there is still more to be done. “There was a government initiative of an 18 week wait for surgery. Within that time if surgery was available elsewhere, such as in France, the government [of England] would pay for the surgery,” she says commenting on why most British patients opt for surgery out of England. However she adds “depending on the procedure, it’s always better to have it done somewhere the patient can be continuously monitored by doctors who performed the surgery.”
Mercy’s contribution to society extends beyond her work at NICE; she is on the board of General Optical Court and is also involved in social research and training. Having developed a deep interest in social issues at a young age, Mercy went into healthcare right after she graduated from the University of Abdeen with her BSc in pure science. “My sister was a scientist and so I’ve been interested in science as well. But I’m more of a people’s person which is why I chose to work in healthcare. I’ve worked at charities helping people with different conditions.”
Having been part of as many as 180 charitable organisations, working with people of different conditions, ethnic groups and ages, Mercy found the most challenging to be her work at the Association For All Speech Impaired Children (AFASIC). “I was responsible for all of it and worked in Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. It was during the time the central government was introduced and each country became independently responsible. I had to restructure the charity,” she explains.
Her work aside, the joy of being informed of her award was dampened for Mercy with the death of her sister. She says she would have loved for her sister to have been at the ceremony and watch her receive the award.
“Going through the state entrance of the Palace was quite an experience,” she says speaking about the ceremony. “We drove through the gates of Buckingham Palace and were then led to a gallery where we were given instructions on how to address the Queen and such matters of etiquette. It was a lovely day.” She was also delighted by the conversation with the Queen. “As she pinned on the medal she wanted to know a bit about what I did. Once I had told her she, commented, ‘you must be very busy’”. |
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