• Celebrations

Cecily Mwaniki, Community and Health Inequalities Engagement Officer at Berkshire Healthcare, has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate (Doctor of Letters) by the University of Reading in recognition of more than 25 years of work improving access to health services, strengthening community partnerships, and addressing health inequalities across Berkshire.

The award was formally conferred at a graduation ceremony at the University of Reading in December 2025. The honorary degree recognises Cecily’s contribution across the voluntary sector, academia and her career, including her current role at Berkshire Healthcare.

Joining the Trust in 2017, Cecily supports strategic community engagement and co-production work to help ensure patient and community voices shape how care is designed and delivered. This includes building trusted relationships with grassroots and faith organisations, supporting open dialogue between communities, senior leaders and frontline teams, and focusing on improving access, experience and outcomes for hard-to-reach and underserved communities.

Berkshire Healthcare’s Health Inequalities Strategy is focused on reducing unequal access, experience and outcomes for people across Berkshire. Cecily’s work directly supports this strategic priority, helping services better understand lived experience and co-design services that meet people’s needs in culturally grounded and accessible ways.

A key strand of Cecily’s current work is support with the Mental Health Act Detention project, a strategic Trust initiative that aims to improve access, experience and outcomes for Black people who are disproportionately detained under the Mental Health Act. The project works with communities and system partners to better understand the causes behind this disparity and to co-design approaches that support earlier access to care and help reduce the risk of people reaching crisis point.

Cecily has also supported community-led events, faith partnerships and engagement programmes, helping services better understand the cultural, social and emotional factors that influence people’s health and wellbeing. A Men’s Wellbeing Forum, Women’s Trauma Therapy Groups, online Health & Wellbeing conversations, the Community Wellbeing Hub drop-in in Reading, and Community Health Champions are just some of the initiatives Cecily leads and which contributed to Berkshire Healthcare winning a 2025 Reading Grassroots Community Award.

Alongside her professional role, Cecily is the founder of the award-winning charity Utulivu Women’s Group, established in 2004 to support women, girls and families affected by domestic abuse, mental ill health, homelessness and harmful practices.

Commenting on the award, Cecily Mwaniki said:

“This recognition reflects the work of many communities and partners who have been willing to share their experiences and work with services to create better access, understanding and outcomes. Building trust and listening to people’s lived experience is at the heart of everything we do together.”

Dr Kathryn MacDermott, Director of Strategic Planning for Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust said:

“Cecily’s work has helped strengthen relationships between our services and the communities we serve, particularly in areas where people can face barriers to accessing care. This recognition from the University of Reading reflects the impact of her commitment to partnership working, inclusion and addressing health inequalities - a central priority in Berkshire Healthcare’s strategy. On behalf of the Trust, I’d like to thank Cecily for her ongoing commitment to this work and to congratulate her for this richly deserved recognition.”