Hello and welcome to our latest news update.

In this month’s issue, we reflect on our recent STAE course with the Royal College of Surgeons, put the spotlight on one of our #wardoctorheroes and celebrate the six runners who took on the Royal Parks Half Marathon to raise £10,000 for the Foundation. We’re also thrilled to tell you about our new Friends of David Nott Foundation societies, which are up and running across several UK universities.

Thank you as always for your continued support and generosity.

 

September STAE Course

 

At the end of September, we ran our 7th STAE course – Surgical Training for Austere Environments. These specialist courses, which are run in partnership with the Royal College of Surgeons, equip medics with the knowledge, skills and confidence to treat patients and save lives.

But the training does not end with these courses alone. As Dr Koma Akim, one of the surgeons we trained, said: “Being able to practise the procedure means I have the confidence to do it, and if I can do it, I can teach it.” Through our training and through this worldwide knowledge sharing, we are proud that our courses have saved an estimated 1.6 million lives and limbs to date.

Because of your continued generosity, we are able to offer fully funded scholarships to surgeons who work in challenging conditions to attend this London-based course. We are delighted that our September STAE course was completed by 14 such scholars from all over the world, including South Sudan, Cameroon, Libya and Pakistan.

You can read more about these incredible surgeons here.

 

Taking on the Royal Parks Half

 

We are beyond grateful to the six runners who took on the Royal Parks Half Marathon for the Foundation last October. Running nearly 80 miles between them and raising a whopping £10,000, their perseverance and dedication means we can now train ten more surgeons to treat more patients and save more lives.

Lindsey Crockett, one of our runners and a senior GP, said: “I’m very proud and thankful for the opportunity to contribute. I cannot think of a more worthy cause to help.” You can read more about our other runners and their motivation here.

We’re always thrilled to hear from donors taking on challenge events in aid of the Foundation so please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you, or someone you know, is doing something special.

 

Spotlight on Dr Youssef Saab

 

 

In this latest instalment of our #wardoctorheroes series, we’re proud to introduce Dr Youssef Saab from Lebanon, one of our recent STAE course scholars. Youssef is a Lebanese surgeon who works 3km from the Syrian border. The majority of his patients are child refugees, who, having fled from war, now deal with chronic wounds and burns.

As Youssef explained: “War is not just about the acute wounds. Wounds that have not been properly treated, which become infected or that fail to heal properly can be just as deadly.”

Working with just one other surgeon in the Bekaa Valley refugee camp, Youssef regularly sees between 50-60 patients each day. Alongside chronic wounds, electric shocks and hot water burns are also common place, as conditions in the refugee camps remain hazardous, especially for young children.

 

 

 

Friends of David Nott Foundation

We’re delighted to tell you about the new Friends of David Nott Foundation societies that are up and running across several UK universities. These societies will be raising awareness for the Foundation’s work and helping to inspire the next generation of war doctors. 

David and Ammar recently had the opportunity to visit the University of Manchester, where the first ‘FDNF’ society was established, to deliver a lecture on humanitarian medicine. Speaking to over 200 students, DNF surgical faculty member Ammar Darwish explained: “The best way to get into humanitarian work is to volunteer for these charities and complete your training”.

Alongside Manchester, students at St George’s, King’s College London, Sussex and Durham University have also set up FDNF societies and will be fundraising for us throughout the academic year. If you would like to set  up an FDNF society at your university, please get in touch!

You can read more about how these societies will be supporting us here.