The charitable arm of the British Medical Association, BMA Giving, today announced a total sum of £125,000 to be donated in grants to 10 charities sharing the mission of the BMA – to look after doctors so they can look after their patients.
Ten charities were selected in addition to a further £25,000 of emergency funding in support of the crisis in Ukraine awarded in February. The grants included projects supporting refugees, equality, diversity, and inclusion and suicide awareness for medical students. A record 47 charities applied to this year’s scheme, marking an increase of 62% compared with applications received in 2021.
The charities include Bloody Good Period, which will use the £10,000 grant to help volunteer medical professionals share menstrual, sexual, and reproductive health knowledge to asylum seekers and refugees. Freedom from Torture will use its £13,000 to support doctors working with refugees and asylum-seeking residents in the UK who have experienced torture.
All Skin Tones received £7,000 to help medical students and junior doctors improve awareness, identification and treatment of dermatological conditions for people of darker skin tones, while Arian Teleheal received £15,000 for its project to remotely deliver mental health support sessions to medical staff located in conflict zones.
Olly’s Future received £10,000 for its Dr SAMS (Suicide Awareness in Medical Students) initiative, which was also supported by BMA Giving in 2020 and 2021, while £25,000 was awarded to the Cameron Fund, supporting GPs and GP trainees in financial hardship.
Dame Parveen Kumar, chair of BMA Giving committee said:
“Our motto at the BMA is ‘we look after doctors so they can look after you’. BMA Giving allows us to help both doctors and their patients – whether it is offering reproductive health knowledge to asylum seekers or helping doctors protect against mental health problems and suicide, these grants are a recognition that doctors are only as strong as their support network. The amazing and inspiring work of these charities shows the generosity of spirit that reflect the best of the medical profession, and it is a privilege to support them as chair of this committee.”
Professor Philip Banfield, BMA chair of council, said:
“Doctors, wherever they are in the world, are part of one community. We saw with the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis the extraordinary lengths UK doctors would go to help their peers in distant lands, with some literally driving across Europe to hand vital medical supplies over the Polish border.
“BMA Giving is an expression of solidarity, a way of acknowledging that any doctor anywhere may need help and that there will be others in the profession who are willing to offer it. As a trade union and as a professional association it is among our most important tasks to offer that solidarity.”
Ann Feloy, Chair and Founder of Olly's Future, which she set up in memory of her son Oliver Hare, said:
“We are delighted to receive funding from the BMA for Dr SAMS (Suicide Awareness in Medical Students) for the third year running. Our unique initiative equips medical students with the skills to ask about suicide and develop self-reflective and self-compassion techniques so that they can take better care of themselves, support their fellow students and ultimately feel confident to ask future patients if they are thinking of suicide. With this funding, we offer Dr SAMS as part of the core curriculum at medical schools at Brighton and Sussex and the University of Exeter.
My vision is for every medical school in the country to embed Dr SAMS in their curriculum so our GPs of tomorrow have the skills and knowledge to look after themselves and their patients with care and compassion to the best of their ability, thus ultimately saving lives from suicide."
ENDS
Notes to editors:
The full list of recipients is below:
All Skin Tones
A grant of £7,000 was awarded. The grant will be used to develop educational talks and modules for medical students and junior doctors, as well as educational materials for patients of South Asian ethnicities, in order to improve awareness, identification and treatment of dermatological conditions for people of darker skin tones.
Arian Teleheal
A grant of £15,000 was awarded. The grant will be used to develop and remotely deliver mental health support sessions to medical staff located in conflict zones, as well as provide mental health support for medical staff in the UK who have been affected in dealing with trauma through work with refugees.
The Armitage Foundation
A grant of £5,000 was awarded. The grant will be used to fund the development and delivery of Armitage Seniors, a two-year programme designed to support young people in years 10-11 (aged 14-16) through their GCSE years. The programme provides students with advice on the key markers of medical applications, which include gaining work experience, achieving competitive grades and exploring different medical career paths.
Bloody Good Period
A grant of £10,000 was awarded. The grant will be used to develop and deliver a programme led by medical professionals on a range of menstrual, sexual and reproductive health topics for refugee and asylum-seeking women across England and Wales.
BMA Charities Trust Fund
A grant of £12,500 was awarded. The grant will be used to provide assistance to medical students taking medicine as a second degree who are in severe financial difficulties.
The Cameron Fund
A grant of £25,000 was awarded. The grant will be used to provide financial support to GPs and GP trainees in financial hardship, often due to a combination of life-changing events such as: COVID-19, physical illness, mental illness, bereavement, relationship breakdown, performance issues or unemployment.
Freedom from Torture
A grant of £13,000 was awarded. The grant will fund the delivery of an e-learning course entitled ‘Working with Survivors of Torture,’ to support doctors working with refugees and asylum-seeking residents in the UK who have experienced torture.
Olly's Future
A grant of £10,000 was awarded. The grant will build on Olly’s Future’s Dr SAMS (Suicide Awareness in Medical Students) initiative, which was supported by BMA Giving in 2020 and 2021. The project aims to equip medical students with suicide prevention knowledge to develop self-compassion and a culture of self-care early on in their medical career.
Royal Medical Benevolent Fund
A grant of £12,500 was awarded. The grant will be used to create a dedicated mental health support fund for doctors whose mental health conditions are affecting their ability to work, resulting in financial hardship.
Second Sight
A grant of £15,000 was awarded. The grant will be used to fund cataract surgery for 750 blind patients in Araria, India. Second Sight was set up with a clinician-led approach to address the root cause of the blindness problem in rural north India by directly funding Indian eye surgeons.
-The BMA is a trade union and professional association representing and negotiating on behalf of all doctors in the UK. A leading voice advocating for outstanding health care and a healthy population. An association providing members with excellent individual services and support throughout their lives.
Notes to editors
The full list of recipients is below:
All Skin Tones
A grant of £7,000 was awarded. The grant will be used to develop educational talks and modules for medical students and junior doctors, as well as educational materials for patients of South Asian ethnicities, in order to improve awareness, identification and treatment of dermatological conditions for people of darker skin tones.
Arian Teleheal
A grant of £15,000 was awarded. The grant will be used to develop and remotely deliver mental health support sessions to medical staff located in conflict zones, as well as provide mental health support for medical staff in the UK who have been affected in dealing with trauma through work with refugees.
The Armitage Foundation
A grant of £5,000 was awarded. The grant will be used to fund the development and delivery of Armitage Seniors, a two-year programme designed to support young people in years 10-11 (aged 14-16) through their GCSE years. The programme provides students with advice on the key markers of medical applications, which include gaining work experience, achieving competitive grades and exploring different medical career paths.
Bloody Good Period
A grant of £10,000 was awarded. The grant will be used to develop and deliver a programme led by medical professionals on a range of menstrual, sexual and reproductive health topics for refugee and asylum-seeking women across England and Wales.
BMA Charities Trust Fund
A grant of £12,500 was awarded. The grant will be used to provide assistance to medical students taking medicine as a second degree who are in severe financial difficulties.
The Cameron Fund
A grant of £25,000 was awarded. The grant will be used to provide financial support to GPs and GP trainees in financial hardship, often due to a combination of life-changing events such as: COVID-19, physical illness, mental illness, bereavement, relationship breakdown, performance issues or unemployment.
Freedom from Torture
A grant of £13,000 was awarded. The grant will fund the delivery of an e-learning course entitled ‘Working with Survivors of Torture,’ to support doctors working with refugees and asylum-seeking residents in the UK who have experienced torture.
Olly's Future
A grant of £10,000 was awarded. The grant will build on Olly’s Future’s Dr SAMS (Suicide Awareness in Medical Students) initiative, which was supported by BMA Giving in 2020 and 2021. The project aims to equip medical students with suicide prevention knowledge to develop self-compassion and a culture of self-care early on in their medical career.
Royal Medical Benevolent Fund
A grant of £12,500 was awarded. The grant will be used to create a dedicated mental health support fund for doctors whose mental health conditions are affecting their ability to work, resulting in financial hardship.
Second Sight
A grant of £15,000 was awarded. The grant will be used to fund cataract surgery for 750 blind patients in Araria, India. Second Sight was set up with a clinician-led approach to address the root cause of the blindness problem in rural north India by directly funding Indian eye surgeons.
-
The BMA is a trade union and professional association representing and negotiating on behalf of all doctors in the UK. A leading voice advocating for outstanding health care and a healthy population. An association providing members with excellent individual services and support throughout their lives.