We had the honour of welcoming Professor Nick Maynard (OKS, Walpole 1975–79) back to King’s for a special King’s Talk on Monday 9 February 2026. The Science Auditorium was full, with pupils, staff, local parents, OKS and former staff members all in attendance.

Nick is a Consultant Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeon based in Oxford. Since 2010, he has worked extensively in Gaza, including leading Medical Aid for Palestine (MAP)’s first emergency medical team to the region in 2023. He is currently Chair of MAP’s Board of Trustees and has shared his experiences through national media appearances, including Sky News, Good Morning Britain and LBC. In 2025, he was awarded the Humanitarian Medal – the first of its kind – by King Charles III in recognition of his work in Gaza.

Nick’s talk, Delivering Emergency Medical Aid in Gaza, began with an outline of his career in the UK. After King’s, he studied at Oxford University and Guy’s Hospital Medical School before taking up a role in Oxford, where he was appointed to help establish a specialist oesophageal centre. Due to retire this June, he has spent the past 29 years specialising in oesophageal cancer and surgery.

Since 2010, Nick has led teams from Oxford to Gaza to provide training and clinical support, working within a healthcare system that was already under severe pressure long before the war began on 7 October. The region faced deep-rooted challenges, including poverty, high unemployment, outdated medical equipment, and limited treatment options – most notably the absence of radiotherapy. Following the outbreak of war on 7 October, Nick felt a strong sense of duty to return, making repeated trips to deliver urgently needed emergency care.

One especially stark statistic – that healthcare workers in Gaza are three times more likely to be killed than other civilians – underscored the extreme dangers faced by medical staff. Nick described the “extreme forms of high-energy trauma” he encountered as “indescribable.” While he was careful to stress that his talk was not intended to be overtly political, he acknowledged how difficult it is to separate politics from the lived reality on the ground.

Throughout the talk, Nick shared moving personal stories of Gazans he knew on a personal level who had been injured or killed during the conflict. Most poignantly, he spoke about child patients he had operated on who should have survived, but later died due to malnutrition, lack of pain relief and basic medical equipment.

Through his work and personal connection to Gaza, Nick has become a passionate advocate for Palestinian rights and has spoken to senior UK politicians about what he has witnessed. Expressing disappointment in their response, he stated that “Gaza has been failed by our government and the media.” Reflecting on his experiences, Nick explained that his work in Gaza had reaffirmed the core values of being a doctor: empathy, adaptability and the ability to work with limited resources. He also spoke about the importance of embracing cultural differences, noting that he had learnt just as much from Gazan doctors as they had from him.

“The need for strong activism and advocacy for Gaza has never been stronger”

- Professor Nick Maynard 

To finish, Nick shared practical ways the audience could help, encouraging people to talk openly, educate one another, march and demonstrate, volunteer, and donate to organisations supporting humanitarian relief efforts. The floor was then opened to questions, with pupils asking thoughtful and challenging questions such as, “Have you ever felt targeted for speaking out?”, “How did you prepare yourself for the trips?” and “Did you fear dying?”

In response to the final question, Nick simply said that “the need to care was stronger – and I was surrounded by people who felt the same.”

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Nick for returning to King’s to deliver such a powerful talk. It was eye-opening, informative and deeply emotional, and it was an honour to hear first-hand from someone whose compassion and commitment have made a profound difference in the lives of others.

If you would like to hear more from Nick Maynard, you can follow him on Instagram: @nickmaynard.surgeon

You can also visit Medical Aid for Palestine's website to learn more about their humanitarian work.