Portsmouth consultant sets up Dr Mike King Trust to help students get into medical school

Dr Mike King grew up in Portsmouth and went on to work as a consultant radiologist at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham.

In 2018, he died from cancer at just 45 years old.

Friend Manish Patel, a gastroenterology consultant at St Mary’s, has set up the Dr Mike King Trust to help students get into medical school in his name.

Manish said: ‘Mike and I both grew up in Portsmouth and we met when we went to medical school. Growing up, my mother worked in a take-away and my father was a driver.

‘Getting into medical school was a challenge as, both at home and at school, there was not the knowledge about how to go through the complex process.

‘People from places like Portsmouth, with areas of deprivation, tend to be under-represented in the medical profession.

‘I had always wanted to set up a trust to support young people in the city who come from a non-clinical background to have the skills and confidence to successfully take on the process.

‘Doing so in Mike’s name seemed to be a fitting tribute.’

Dr Patel contacted Portsmouth College and he started helping five students through the process, giving tips on personal statements, sharing exam techniques and he also arranged for the students to shadow doctors and nurses at St Mary’s.

Izzie Jordan-Evans was one of the group.

She said: ‘The work experience was excellent – we learnt so much from the clinicians we met.

‘The interview practice was invaluable, as they are like no other job or academic interviews any of us had come across. It allowed all of us to go in with much more confidence that we would have had.’

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Care UK, which runs the centre, has given three students engraved stethoscopes to take with them when they begin their courses in September.

Hospital director Penny Daniels added: ‘I am delighted that the work experience has helped the students fulfil their ambition of attending medical school. Manish is a truly dedicated professional who is committed to the community he serves.

‘We hope to help him with further work placement as the trust grows.’

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