Kayah Wilks has been recognised for clinical excellence after her quick thinking helped stabilise a woman suffering a life-threatening opioid overdose at a London hospital.

Dr Wilks was working on an acute psychiatric ward at King’s College Hospital when she became concerned about a patient who appeared extremely drowsy.

While carrying out a physical health assessment, she found crack pipes on the woman and recommended that her usual sedative medication be withheld.

When she returned to see the patient later that afternoon, a medical emergency was under way.

The woman was non-responsive, had pinpoint pupils and was breathing only four times a minute, well below the normal rate of at least 12.

Dr Wilks recognised the signs of opioid toxicity and realised the woman needed naloxone, a medication that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose.

“I hadn't had any prior training in giving naloxone, but luckily I had done some sort of reading on it, in my own time at home, and recognised that that's what needed to be given.”

She administered the medication while calling for further medical support, stabilising the patient before she was transferred to the King’s emergency department.

Dr Wilks believes her previous rotation in emergency medicine helped prepare her for the situation.

“I think emergency medicine, in King’s specifically, really gave me that upper hand in the sense that I was thrown into really acute situations, and had to act fast and think fast and stabilise people when I wasn’t entirely sure what was going on.”

She said an opioid overdose left little time for hesitation.

“Sometimes we've got to be a little bit quicker than that, and this was a perfect example of that, because something like an opioid overdose, someone can be awake one minute and 20 seconds later they're gone. There really isn't a lot of time for discussion.”

It is a long way from how Dr Wilks might have pictured her future while growing up.

“In school I was sort of always pitched as being sporty, bubbly, chatty, maybe a little bit artsy, but not like someone who was going to be within law or finance or medicine,” she said. “I think it's really easy to be pushed into a certain box at a young age.”

It was not until the summer of Year 12 that she decided on medicine. She went on to spend five years studying in a campus of Queen Mary University of London on the Mediterranean island of Malta.

The Covid-19 pandemic struck between her first and second years, bringing her back to Bermuda, where she worked with the island’s Covid testing teams.

“I was already in medical school, obviously, but it really made it clear to me that this is exactly what I want to be doing, practising as a doctor, and hopefully returning to Bermuda at some point.”

She was subsequently awarded the Nicholl Scholarship, which helped support her through the remainder of her studies.

By her fourth year of medical school, Dr Wilks was ranked in the first decile. She eventually graduated with merit and received the Harvey Minasian Prize for clinical excellence in medical school and placements.

From Malta, she moved to London for two years of foundation training at King’s, rotating through surgery, acute medicine, gastroenterology, emergency medicine and psychiatric medicine.

The opioid emergency came during that final rotation.

Her response did not end when the patient left for the emergency department.

Dr Wilks recognised uncertainty among staff around opioid toxicity, the use of naloxone and identifying a deteriorating patient. She organised teaching and simulation training for the team and wrote guidelines and learning objectives.

A consultant psychiatrist on the ward, Alex Bartha, subsequently nominated her for the Foundation Merit Award, given by the London Foundation School for clinical excellence and outstanding contribution.

On Wednesday, Dr Wilks begins the next stage of her career, in southwest England at Royal Devon and Exeter University Hospital Trust.

She will start in obstetrics and gynaecology, followed by acute medicine, before spending the final two years of the three-year programme focused on general practice.

Ultimately, she plans to return to Bermuda. During a visit home last month, Dr Wilks submitted her application for a licence to work on the island.

“I do definitely want to get back more frequently and start creating networks and meeting people within the same field and seeing how I can contribute to supporting healthcare in Bermuda as well,” she said.

“I obviously want to take advantage of being [in Britain], and gain as much experience as possible before moving back. Which is why I'm not in a rush, but I want to make sure that I have all my eggs sort of in line before I get back.”

Dr Wilks encouraged young Bermudians to consider medical training outside Britain and the United States. Three or four Bermudians followed her into the Malta programme, she said, and she is happy to speak to others who are not sure whether or not it’s a career for them.

“I think that anyone is capable, and I wish that someone had told me that as well, at a younger age, that these things are not unachievable.”