MDU initiative sees foundation doctor members raise over £30,000 for charity partners for second consecutive year

Foundation Year 1 members (FY1) of the Medical Defence Union (MDU) have raised over £30,000 which will be divided between the Royal Medical Benevolent Fund (RMBF) and the Doctors’ Support Network (DSN), two charities which provide health, wellbeing and financial support to doctors and medical students across the UK.

The MDU’s partnership with the RMBF and the DSN began in 2021, when the MDU reduced its first-year subscription from £10 to £5 for FY1 members who donated the remaining £5 to the two charities. Due to its success, the MDU will continue this initiative into 2023.

Thanks to MDU members, the RMBF has been able to increase its support to medical students, assisting 98 medical students in 2022, up from 73 in 2021. These students experienced financial hardship and consequently, were at risk of dropping out of medical school, as a result of illness, injury or bereavement,

One beneficiary of the RMBF’s support commented:

“I just wanted to say a heartfelt thanks, I instantly cried when I received the news. It will go a long way to helping relieve some of the financial stresses and help me get to the finish line of completing my medical degree.”

DSN used last year’s donation from MDU members to establish a collaboration with NHS Practitioner Health to fund the assessment and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) for doctors who may struggle to access funding for this intervention.

Dr Matthew Lee, the MDU’s chief executive, said:

“Sadly, medical students, just like our qualified doctor members, are facing greater psychological, social and financial pressures than ever before. At the MDU, we are always looking for ways to support our members and promote and partner with organisations who also help medical professionals.

“Consequently, I’m delighted by the success of this partnership so far and that our foundation year 1 members have raised over £30,000 for the second consecutive year. I look forward to the MDU supporting medics into 2023 and beyond.”

Steven Crone, chief executive of the Royal Medical Benevolent Fund, commented:

“We are very grateful that the MDU’s foundation members have helped us to raise funds and increase the level of support we offer to medical students and their families during an extraordinarily difficult time for the profession.

“The money raised will enable us to further increase and expand our programmes to provide financial support, advice and information when it is needed most.”

Dr Louise Freeman, co-chair of the Doctors’ Support Network, explained:

“Poor mental health is more likely to affect medical professionals than non-medical professionals and this will only be exacerbated due to the challenging circumstances that doctors currently face.

“We intend to use this year’s donation to continue our project with NHS Practitioner Health so that more doctors in need can benefit from additional funding in this increasingly recognised but under resourced area.”

Click here to learn more about the MDU’s charity partnership scheme with the Royal Medical Benevolent Fund and the Doctors’ Support Network.