Oxford surgeons awarded national honours

Two senior surgeons from Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH) have been recognised with prestigious national awards from the British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (BAOMS), celebrating excellence and outstanding contributions to surgery, education, and patient care.

Daljit Dhariwal has received the Down Surgical Prize, one of the Association's highest honours, recognising a lifetime of exceptional service to surgery, while Montey Garg won the BAOMS Surgery Prize, awarded to surgeons in the first 10 years of consultant practice.

Daljit, who previously received the BAOMS Surgery Prize in 2010, has since taken on a series of influential national leadership roles, including serving as President of BAOMS and delivering the association's largest scientific meeting, placing 'the patient’s voice' at the heart of the programme.

She is also a founding member of the Working Party on Sexual Misconduct in Surgery, playing a pioneering role in shaping nationally recognised work to improve professional culture and safety across the surgical profession. Her leadership and impact were further recognised in 2024 when she received the Royal College of Surgeons Colyer Gold Medal.

A consultant for more than 20 years, Daljit leads a busy facial deformity and minimally invasive salivary gland practice at OUH and is Deputy Director of Undergraduate Surgical Teaching at the University of Oxford. Her contributions to education, innovation and research are widely recognised.

Daljit said: "It is a great honour to receive the Down Prize from BAOMS. Surgery is a profession built on teamwork, reflection, and lifelong learning, and I have been fortunate to work with outstanding colleagues and trainees throughout my career.

"Ensuring that education, patient experience, and professional values remain central to surgical practice has always been deeply important to me. It is an immense privilege to receive this recognition."

Now four and a half years into his consultant career, Montey has been recognised for pioneering a national digital education programme during the COVID-19 pandemic. What began as an innovative response to disrupted face-to‑face training evolved into a national online teaching platform, transforming surgical education across the UK.

His leadership led to his appointment as NHS England National Online Training Programme Director for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, supporting other surgical specialties to embed high-quality digital learning. Montey also leads a busy head and neck cancer practice at the Trust and has a strong academic portfolio with multiple peer-reviewed publications.

Montey said: "I am incredibly honoured to receive this award from BAOMS. The pandemic challenged us to rethink how we educate and support surgeons nationally, and I am proud that this work has had a lasting impact.

"None of this would have been possible without the support of colleagues in Oxford and across the UK, and it remains a privilege to combine innovation in education with delivering high-quality care to our patients."

Professor Andrew Brent, Chief Medical Officer at OUH, said: "It is highly unusual for two surgeons from the same unit to receive BAOMS' highest honours in the same year, marking a significant achievement for the Trust and reflecting the strength, leadership, and innovation within its Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery service. We and the team should be rightly proud of Daljit and Montey’s achievements."