The Royal Medical Benevolent Fund is the UK charity for doctors, medical students and their families, offering financial support, advice and information in times of need. Over the past year, the RMBF has helped over 300 beneficiaries with direct financial support, with a total financial impact of over £800,000.

The MDU has enjoyed a close relationship with the RMBF for a number of years, sharing the same goal of supporting doctors and offering assistance when it's needed most. We're glad to join Professor Dame Parveen Kumar DBE in reaching out to the medical community and asking for your help to ensure every doctor has somewhere to turn in a crisis.

As Professor Kumar says in her final appeal as President of the RMBF, 'Until I became President, I was unaware of the sheer hardship that some of our colleagues are suffering due to mental and physical ill health. When I think back to the early days of my career, although I remember it being really tough, I was lucky to have invaluable support from my fellow juniors and consultants. We worked as a team.

'I can't imagine how different things might have been without that camaraderie and friendship forged on the firm system and in the mess. It is therefore particularly heart-rending to hear, at the RMBF Grants & Awards Committee meetings, that so many doctors and medical students are not only struggling with real hardship, but doing so whilst feeling terribly isolated.

'At a time when many of the old support structures in the profession have fallen away, acts of kindness from colleagues looking out for each other are so very important. Every donation to the RMBF enables us to step in with kindness and compassion when things take a real turn for the worse.'

Visit the RMBF's website to find out more and donate.