Press Release: The Rt Hon. the Baroness Boothroyd OM to be Patron of The David Nott Foundation

London, 20 April 2016 : The David Nott Foundation is delighted to announce that The Rt Hon. the Baroness Boothroyd OM has agreed to become the Foundation’s Patron.

Baroness Boothroyd said: ‘I have for many years been a supporter and admirer of David Nott and the extraordinary work he does both in the UK and abroad.  The Foundation will enable him to train many more doctors in war-torn regions which desperately need skilled medical help.  It is a great cause worthy of support and I am privileged to be its Patron.’

David Nott commented: ‘I am absolutely thrilled that Baroness Boothroyd has agreed to be the Patron of our Foundation.  I have for many years been a great admirer of her and know she will bring her incomparable warmth, drive and energy to the Foundation as we move forward with our work teaching the best in war surgical skills.’

Baroness Boothroyd becomes Patron at an exciting time for the Foundation as it expands its activities and programmes.

On Sunday 17 April, the first David Nott Foundation Hostile Environment Surgical Training (HEST) course concluded in Gaziantep, Turkey.

The HEST course is a satellite of the Surgical Training for the Austere Environment (STAE) course which David directs at the Royal College of Surgeons of England.  The HEST course has a smaller faculty and fewer resource needs meaning it can take surgical training right to the front line.

Eight faculty members, including Course Director David Nott, taught 30 Syrian doctors life-saving surgical techniques.  They were taught neurosurgery, maxillo-facial, thoracic, cardiac, abdominal, vascular and paediatric surgery, orthopaedics and obstetrics and gynaecology.

The Syrian doctors travelled from Hama, Homs, Idlib and Aleppo to be taught by David and his faculty.  Many of the surgeons David had worked with before, during his visits to Syria in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

‘It was wonderful to see so many familiar faces and continue the teaching I have been honoured to be able to give over many years to my Syrian friends.  By holding this course on the Turkish-Syrian border we are bringing life-saving surgical techniques directly to the people who need them most.  Following the fantastic response to this inaugural course, we will in the future hold more HEST courses wherever in the world there is the need,’ David Nott said.

Note to editors
For further information please contact Elly Nott
[email protected] 

The Rt Hon. the Baroness Boothroyd OM
Betty Boothroyd entered Parliament in 1973. She had a distinguished parliamentary career serving on many select committees and as a whip. In 1992 the Labour MP for West Bromwich West became the first woman Speaker in over 700 years of Commons history. Well-liked by MPs, she stood no nonsense in the Commons chamber and was a firm but fair arbiter of the House’s rules. In 1992 she was named Parliamentarian of the Year, and in her role as Speaker she won the respect of members from all parties as she stood up for the rights of backbenchers against ministers and the executive.

Born in Yorkshire, she lived in America in the 1950s where she helped one John Kennedy on his election campaigns. She joined the Labour Party as a teenager and spent some time as a secretary to various MPs. After entering Parliament she won a seat on Labour’s National Executive Committee. She has at least eight honorary degrees and several “Freedom of the City” awards. The screening of prime minister’s questions overseas, notably in the US, made her an internationally famous figure.  She was Chancellor of the Open University for twelve years.

About David Nott OBE FRCS
David has been a Consultant Surgeon at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for 23 years where he specialises in general surgery.  David also performs vascular and trauma surgery at St Mary’s Hospital and cancer surgery at the Royal Marsden Hospital.

For the past twenty three years David has taken unpaid leave each year to work for the aid agencies Médecins Sans Frontières, the International Committee of the Red Cross and Syria Relief. He has provided surgical treatment to the victims of conflict and catastrophe in Bosnia, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Chad, Darfur, Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Iraq, Pakistan, Libya, Syria, Central African Republic, Gaza and Nepal. As well as treating victims of conflict and catastrophe and raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for charitable causes, David teaches advanced surgical skills to local medics and surgeons when he is abroad. In London, he teaches the Surgical Training for the Austere Environment (STAE) course at the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

In 2015 David established the David Nott Foundation with his wife Elly. The Foundation will support surgeons to develop their operating skills for warzones and austere environments.

About The David Nott Foundation
The David Nott Foundation is a UK registered charity which provides surgeons and medical professionals with the skills they need to provide relief and assistance in conflict and natural disaster zones around the world.  As well as providing the best medical care, David Nott Foundation surgeons will train local healthcare professionals; leaving a legacy of education and improved health outcomes.

Founded and led by renowned British surgeon David Nott, the Foundation benefits from his passion for advancing the best in surgical research, practice and teaching as well as his commitment to helping vulnerable people in some of the most dangerous and disadvantaged places in the world.

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