10 years of life saving impact
In 2015, the David Nott Foundation was founded by Professor David and Elly Nott to meet a clear and urgent need: to equip doctors with the surgical skills they need to save lives in areas of conflict and catastrophe.
Since then, we’ve trained thousands of medical professionals across the world – from frontline hospitals in Ukraine, to refugee clinics in Yemen, to operating theatres in Palestine.
Over the past decade, our mission has remained constant: to provide access to safe, skilled surgical care in the world’s most challenging environments. Every course, every partnership and every act of support from our dedicated supporters has helped us deliver on that promise.
The Foundation has grown from a two-person idea to a global humanitarian charity with an unmatched reputation in surgical training for austere environments. Every milestone has been driven by our core values of resilience, compassion and excellence in all that we do.
“The evolution of the Foundation over the last ten years has been extraordinary. In the early days, it was often just David and Ammar, setting off for two or three days of discussions and presentations. We now run HEST®, HEST®-A, HEST®-OG – all supported by cutting edge equipment and a world-class training faculty.”
ELLY NOTT, CO-FOUNDER & SENIOR ADVISOR
A Decade of...
Determination
Dependability
DRIVE
Devotion
Deligence
Dedication
DOCTORS
DISCOVERY
DEVELOPMENT
DIFFERENCE
The next decade
As we look ahead, our work so far is only just beginning.
The next decade will be defined by innovation, localisation and long-term impact.
We’re building on our legacy with the development of Heston® 2, an advanced whole body surgical simulator. It features a fully detailed uterus, enabling us to train more doctors in managing obstetric and gynaecological trauma in conflict zones.
Our upcoming Learning Management System (LMS) will allow doctors to access vital training resources remotely – even in active war zones – while expanding the reach of our Hostile Environment Surgical Training (HEST®) course.
Our commitment to localisation continues to grow, with a deeper focus on embedding surgical leadership in conflict-affected countries such as Syria, Ukraine, Palestine and beyond. This includes investing in local faculty, supporting governments and ministries of health to create robust health systems and robust medical education last long after we leave.
We’re entering the next decade with bold ambition the same purpose that started it all: saving lives in the world’s most challenging environments.
“The next decade of our evolution is pivotal to ensuring the life saving knowledge held within the Foundation is disseminated ever more widely, reaching those that need it most.”
DR JAMES GOUGH, CEO
Donate now
We urgently need your help to train frontline doctors and make safe, skilled surgical care available to all.
By donating, you’ll be growing our global network of life savers in the places they are needed most, like Syria, Ukraine, Sudan, Yemen and Palestine.
