NHS medics to receive new Humanitarian Medal from King for work in Gaza

NHS medics who have provided care in Gaza will be among the first to receive a new Humanitarian Medal conferred by the King.

The recipients will receive their medals at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.

Among those to be honoured are 14 frontline medical responders associated with British emergency medical charity UK-Med.

UK-Med said the ceremony would “highlight the UK’s longstanding commitment to medical humanitarianism” while also “bringing attention to the ongoing medical crisis in Gaza, where thousands remain in urgent need of medical assistance”.

The charity added that “hospitals remain overwhelmed and medical supplies are critically low” in Gaza.

Among those receiving the honour is Dr Matthew Newport, 37, an NHS anaesthetist from Ramsbottom, Lancashire, who has been deployed to Gaza five times in the past year.

“As clinicians, we go where we are needed most and in Gaza we have treated patients suffering from severe trauma injuries, burns and blast wounds – many of them children.

“This medal is an honour but the real recognition must go to the local medics who have been working around the clock under impossible conditions.”

Former British Army nursing officer Paula Tobin, 57, was also awarded the medal after being deployed to Gaza three times to work in UK-Med’s field hospital in Al Mawasi.

UK-Med said Ms Tobin, an NHS emergency nurse from Tavistock, Devon, had “provided urgent care to patients in some of the most challenging medical conditions imaginable”.

Another recipient, Nick Cairns, 60, a former British Army officer, played a ”key logistical role in constructing UK-Med’s field hospitals in Gaza”.

Having also worked with the World Health Organisation, UK-Med said he had been “instrumental in ensuring medical operations continue despite extreme logistical challenges”.

David Wightwick, chief executive of UK-Med, said the medics had “put their expertise to work in the most extreme conditions imaginable”.

Mr Wightwick said: “Their commitment to saving lives, often at great personal risk, is a testament to the values of humanitarianism and medical excellence.

“The recognition from His Majesty is a moment of pride for all of us at UK-Med and a reminder of the critical role our medics play in global emergency response.”

UK-Med employs around 500 Palestinian staff in Gaza, supported by a small international team comprising of mostly medics.

The charity has been working in the Gaza Strip since January 2024, running two field hospitals in Al Mawasi and Zuwaida, both funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

It also supports the emergency department at Nasser Hospital in Gaza with funding from the World Health Organisation.

The Humanitarian Medal is awarded to those in public service and members of organisations that contribute on behalf of the Government, such as charities, which respond in support of human welfare during or in the aftermath of a crisis.