Dr Hilary Williams has been elected as clinical vice president of the Royal College of Physicians.
Dr Williams is a consultant in medical oncology at Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff. She is currently RCP vice president for Wales and an active founder member of the UK Acute Oncology Society. She trained in Sheffield before completing a PhD in Edinburgh in immunology and oncogenic viruses and is a mentor for the RCP Emerging Women Leaders Programme.
A total of 4623 votes were cast for clinical vice president, with a turnout of 36.3% across this year’s RCP elections. This is the highest turnout in RCP elections since the presidential election in 2002. Dr Williams received 2602 votes with a margin of 581 to the runner-up candidate. Dr Williams will begin in the role on 1 August 2025, and the tenure of the post is a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 3 years.
Dr Hilary Williams said:
‘I am delighted to be taking up the role of RCP clinical vice president. I have talked (and, I hope, listened) to members and fellows from Newcastle to Plymouth and from Belfast to Bangor. I will work with fellows and members to support physicians to provide the best possible patient care. By acting as a strong professional voice, we can help our workforce to reduce variation and drive improvements in care. The RCP should have a strong regional presence that reflects our values and puts our members first.
‘I want to thank my predecessor, Dr John Dean, who has done so much in this role, as well as the staff of the RCP. And I want to congratulate Dr Mumtaz Patel who has been elected president.
‘Finally, I want to say a big thanks to everyone who has supported the RCP over the past year and who voted in this election, and particularly the RCP family in Wales. Diolch o galon. Rwy’n edrych ymlaen at weithio gyda chi gyd.’
The following four fellows have also been elected as RCP councillors: Professor Nicholas Hopkinson, Dr Sarah Logan, Dr Rasha Mukhtar and Dr Dilesh R Lakhani.
Voting was open between 17 March and 14 April 2025. The elections were supported independently by Civica Election Services and conducted using the single transferable vote electoral system.
The other candidates were:
Clinical vice president candidates
Dr Louella Kate Vaughan
Elected council candidates
Dr Ollie Minton
Dr Philip Pearson
Professor Pankaj Sharma