A leading physician from the Black Country has been appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant in the West Midlands and intends to use her new position to highlight the contributions of 'unsung heroes' in her community.
Dr Sarb Clare MBE, an Acute Medical Consultant at Midland Metropolitan University Hospital, expressed her humility at being among ten individuals newly appointed to this role in the region. Her duties will include supporting royal visits, assisting the armed forces, attending British citizenship ceremonies, promoting honours nominations, and encouraging charitable and voluntary work across the West Midlands.
However, Dr Clare emphasized her desire to focus on improving life chances for residents of Sandwell and West Birmingham, the deprived areas served by her hospital. She stated, 'I feel incredibly privileged and so humbled. The more I think about it the more overwhelmed I feel.' She described the appointment process as intense, requiring her to articulate her core values and integrity.
Dr Clare added, 'What it's given me is real hope of what can be done. One of the things I really want to use this platform for is for the people of Sandwell and West Birmingham who I serve. They inspire me. Their resilience. These people have nothing, they work hard to put bread on the table, no education, but they are surviving. Yet their will, their grit inspires me. I describe them as the unsung heroes.'
She highlighted the voluntary workers, veterans, teachers, healthcare staff, and nurses who make Sandwell great, aiming to 'shine a light on them, uplift them, give them hope, and get their work recognised.' Dr Clare herself grew up in underprivileged areas of Walsall, including Pleck and Darlaston, and stressed the importance of providing hope to young people from similar backgrounds.
She remarked, 'Our phrase is "never forget where you come from because you don't know where you're going to". It's all about the future. The kids need to see. If they can't see it they can't be it. A lot of these people are like "we're poor, we're uneducated and that's it. That's our life". But no, it isn't. You can transform your life.'
Dr Clare, a British Indian female with 'crazy, big curly hair,' hopes that young people can relate to her and envision similar success. She has been recognised for her work addressing health inequalities and clinically led the transition to the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital, which opened in 2024. The hospital is expected to act as a catalyst for regeneration, with hundreds of homes being built on the City Hospital site and rundown buildings around the hospital being regenerated into mixed-use spaces, including retail.
New transport links, including a bus service connecting Sandwell to the city centre and cycle lanes, have been established. Earlier this year, a learning campus opened on the site, allowing nursing students from Sandwell College, Wolverhampton University, and Aston University to train, study, and work there.
Dr Clare stated, 'The beacon of hope is the hospital and the building is theirs. The community was part of this design from the beginning to the end. The whole essence of this role is about the community and the power of what they can do together. I will just be an enabler of that.'
The other new Deputy Lieutenants in Birmingham, Solihull, and the Black Country include Henriette Breukelaar (Birmingham), Paul Faulkner (Birmingham), Nicola Turner MBE (Birmingham), Martin Brostoff (Solihull), Professor Zoe Radnor (Solihull), and Garry Perry (Walsall).
