We’re back from training frontline doctors in two Ukrainian cities
An experienced team of trainers have just returned from delivering two HEST courses in Dnipro and Kharkiv. Here, consultant neurosurgeon and faculty member Pete Mathew shares his experience of teaching frontline doctors in Ukraine and what makes a course successful.
After David volunteered in Ukraine in April, it became clear there was an urgent need to return and deliver our war surgery training course to doctors in the country.
We decided it was best to send a small but experienced team, consisting of David, myself and Ammar Darwish. The three of us have worked in a number of war zones over the past decade – and Ammar and I have been part of the Foundation’s teaching faculty for years.
Reaching as many doctors as possible
To have a bigger impact, we decided to deliver two courses in Ukraine. We held one three-day course in Dnipro and another in Kharkiv – two cities that have faced significant attacks over the past few weeks.
To enter the country and support us on our mission, we worked with UOSSM International. Together, we travelled from Poland and made our way to our first training destination – what appeared to be a teaching facility in Dnipro.
On the walls, there were pictures of students happy and smiling, a stark difference to Ukraine’s present reality.
Training overseas is always a leap into the unknown. We never quite know where the teaching location will be. We don’t always know what sort of doctors will arrive. But it always comes together.
Once we got our bearings, we set our equipment up before the doctors arrived – from Heston our war wound model to David’s comprehensive training videos on a projector. Heston is an excellent teaching aid for describing injuries or techniques.
Making an impact in Dnipro
In Dnipro we had over 30 attendees of varying seniority and specialties - junior doctors, consultants, emergency doctors and an anaesthetist. We had a fantastic Ukrainian translator with us, which was amazing. Different doctors arrived on different days, which is quite normal in an emergency, resource-poor setting. They need to return to treating patients on the frontline.
Sometimes it can take a little time to gain the trust of attendees. We need to prove our worth – which is absolutely understandable.
Creating a community
Some of the surgeries are quite simple, but the hurdle is finding the confidence to do them under challenging, high-stress circumstances. We want doctors to feel empowered - sometimes all that’s needed is confidence. We want doctors to feel inspired to learn and try the techniques they’ve seen on our course.
We hear from those we train that we offer a morale boost, but perhaps more importantly we provide a forum for surgeons with different levels of experience to have discussions and raise questions – a safe space for doctors to debate views.
Speaking with the doctors we met in Dnipro, it was clear they were resigned to the inevitability of returning to the frontline after our course ended. They are solemnly grinding away. Some of the very junior doctors were more anxious about returning to work.
The road to Kharkiv
After three days, we packed up and travelled up to Kharkiv to deliver our second course. The group – 28 doctors - were very happy to see us.
Back-to-back courses can be very tiring, but we are always happy to do it. It’s always very tempting to do two in a row, to reach more people.
There was a marked change in behaviour from the beginning to the end of our courses. Being an effective teacher requires getting your message across with enthusiasm. If you don’t feel drained after a course, or you don’t see excitement in your audience, you haven’t given it everything.
You also need to be able to adapt to the needs of your attendees. It’s important to be flexible and go off-script – to deliver the course in a way that best suits those in front of you.
Standing in solidarity
When training in active war zones like Ukraine, an experienced team, support from the Foundation and partners like UOSSM International are important.
I hope our training has boosted Ukrainian doctors. As long as this war wages on, we will continue to offer whatever support we can.
Surgery on the frontline in Ukraine: David Nott in conversation with Bridget Kendall
We are delighted to announce that The BEARR Trust is hosting an event with our Co-Founder David, to discuss his work providing emergency surgical care and training local doctors in Ukraine.
David will be in conversation with award-winning journalist and BEARR patron, Bridget Kendall, to share his stories of working in crisis and catastrophe zones for over 25 years - including the delivery of two HEST courses in Ukraine. The online event will take place at 18:30 BST on Monday 27 June via Zoom.
About Bridget Kendall
Bridget Kendall worked for the BBC for over 30 years, specialising in Soviet and Russian affairs after graduating from Oxford and Harvard universities. From 1989 to 1995, Bridget was the BBC’s Moscow correspondent, covering the final years of the USSR and the first years of post-Soviet Russia.
As the BBC’s Diplomatic correspondent from 1998 to 2016, she covered conflicts in Chechnya, Georgia, Tajikistan and Ukraine, among others, and in 2001 and 2006 she conducted two interviews with Vladimir Putin, both broadcast live to the world from inside the Kremlin.
In 2016, Bridget was elected Master of Peterhouse Cambridge. She is also a patron of The BEARR Trust.
Register to attend this special event today
Messums Gallery raises £17,000 to help us train doctors in Ukraine
When the war in Ukraine unfolded, Johnny Messum and fellow colleagues at Messums Gallery decided to offer their help by raising funds for charities working in the field. They auctioned a selection of beautiful works and raised an outstanding £17,000 for our cause, helping us upskill local doctors and prepare them for war injuries.
After Russian invasion, artists at Messums Gallery and the art-collecting community were keen to find a way of offering support to the people of Ukraine. This led to Messums Gallery holding their first ever auction, raising funds for our Foundation and Hope and Homes, a charity dedicated to protecting families torn apart by war.
Artists donated exceptional works of art (a selection below) to an online auction that closed on the 2nd May. The auction led to a generous donation of £17,000 to the David Nott Foundation, and the same figure to Hope and Homes.
Johnny Messum, Founder of Messums Gallery, said:
“It is so difficult to know, beyond the immediate instinct to want to help, how best to assist Ukraine. Our way was to find personal connections to charities doing brilliant work in the field.
The David Nott Foundation was immediately identifiable as a charity representing a clear and direct course of action in the face of great human tragedy. We particularly admired the Foundation’s work because it is so enabling of others.”
Rebecca McLoughlin, Head of Donor Relations at the David Nott Foundation, said:
“We are overwhelmed by the incredible generosity of Messums Gallery and their artists.
These funds have helped us physically reach and surgically train doctors within war-torn regions of Ukraine, giving them the vital skills needed to treat traumatic wounds and save lives.”
Find out about our latest mission to Ukraine