GP and interior designer are doing the business

A WOMEN’S health specialist and an interior designer have won national awards for their businesses.

Dr Shilpa McQuillan, from Emmer Green, and Holly Scott, from Benson, have been recognised by the Best Business Women Awards.

The pair were honoured at a gala awards night at the Daventry Court Hotel on October 10, which featured a speech by broadcaster Angela Rippon.

Dr McQuillan, 44, who runs the Berkshire Menopause Clinic in Henley, won silver for her customer service.

In the same week, she was also awarded gold in the category “best business woman in the south of England” at the National Business Women's Awards.

Dr McQuillan is a British Menopause Society-accredited specialist, NHS community gynaecologist and women’s health GP.

She established her own specialist women’s health clinic, based in West Lane, in 2022, where she provides women’s health services.

Dr McQuillan also gives talks in schools, runs a YouTube channel and writes newsletters and resources freely available on her website and a monthly column in the Henley Standard.

Dr McQuillan said: “The thing I love most is seeing that I’m making a difference. I’ve had patients who are suicidal when they come in to see me and seeing the difference when they go from that to turning their lives around is a huge privilege.”

She added that it was “incredible” to be recognised as the best business woman in the south of England, as she comes from a medical, rather than a business, background. She said: “I can see my hard work pays off by the fact that my patients come back to me.

“I see them go from being suicidal to thriving in life, that they recommend me for talks because they know I’m so passionate about what I do.”

Mrs Scott, 42, of Triggs Mead, won silver awards in the best customer service and best creative business categories at the Best Business Women Awards for her business Holly Scott Interior Design.

A former window dresser for luxury brands including Selfridges, Ralph Lauren and Harrods, she established her business in 2020.

Her company offers bespoke interior home design to clients across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire.

It is the second year running she has been recognised at the awards, having won a silver award for best customer
service last year. Mrs Scott said: “It’s such an honour to be recognised among so many inspiring women in business. These awards celebrate creativity, resilience and customer care — all values that sit at the heart of what I do.

“I’m incredibly proud to see my passion for helping people create homes they love being recognised at a national level. It was also nice to get dressed up and have an evening out to celebrate as we don’t often get to do that as business owners.

“It makes it all worthwhile to be awarded as a business because it’s that extra level of recognition and credibility.”

Mrs Scott also hosts design workshops, where she guides homeowners through her design process and helps them create spaces that make them “truly happy”.

Her next in-person workshop, Happy Home Design Live, is on November 6. For more information, visit holly
scottinteriordesign.co.uk