Paul Askham-Spencer, a medical student at St George’s, University of London, has been awarded a £1,000 AMULL Hardship Grant within 24 hours of submitting an application to support him during a period of financial difficulty.
Paul has two years of study left at St George’s
Paul Askham-Spencer, a medical student at St George’s, University of London, and member of Aesculapius Lodge, No.2410, faces a significant funding deficit due to a change in the support available for living costs related to his studies. Paul originally trained as a financial regulator but several years ago decided to quit that life and re-train as a doctor, applying to St George’s, University of London. Due to a severe visual impairment, Paul has had to work hard throughout his studies to keep up with the material and meet the strict criteria for progression that all medical students face.
Due to a change in the policy for awarding certain types of state funding, Paul faces over a month with no income above a basic NHS bursary, and longer-term funding deficits which he is working hard to address, even looking for part-time employment during what is an extremely difficult time to do so. In the meantime, his short-term funding issues meant that he faced a real possibility of having to withdraw from studies, due to an inability to meet housing and living costs in London.
Paul was advised to submit an application to AMULL and with the assistance of his Lodge Secretary, Kevin Jones, applied for a Hardship Grant. Within 24 hours the application had been reviewed by our Charity Stewards and a Grant of £1,000 was approved by AMULL’s President and Chairman. Paul now has the necessary financial security to see him through the coming months and can focus both on his studies and organising further funding for the longer-term.
A member of Paul’s Lodge described him as “extremely worthy of all possible support”, and we wish him well with his medical career.