A professor of geriatric medicine and director at the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board has been awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honour List.

Professor Anthony James Bayer, leading academic and innovative practitioner in the field of dementia care, is the health board's director of Memory Assessment Service.

He was instrumental in setting up the Cardiff Memory Team in 1984, which was the first multidisciplinary memory team in the UK. Prior to its conception, no dedicated services existed for diagnosis and support of people with early dementia in Wales.

He is responsible for a system of recording of diagnoses of dementia subtypes in primary care, enabling more accurate audit of the numbers of people living with dementia and therefore the need for additional funding for services for this vulnerable group.

Three other members of Cardiff and Vale University Health Board were also nominated for MBE's.

Maria Battle, the chair of the board said: "This is wonderful news. Each of our colleagues thoroughly deserve this national recognition, they are all outstanding in their individual fields and have made such a difference to some of the most vulnerable people we serve.

''What each of them has achieved in their professional careers is excellent and we are incredibly lucky to have them work at this Health Board."

Minister for Health and Social Services, Vaughan Gething said: "At the heart of our NHS and social care are the dedicated people working within it.''