Taking our Training Online
To do what we can for our surgeons, we have launched a fortnightly webinar series led by David Nott and our faculty. During these sessions, we invite medics from low-resource settings to present their surgical cases to each other and to our training faculty so that they can share experience and advice.
We’ve also launched a COVID-specific webinar series which aims to provide any information, support and advice that we can to surgeons, particularly around how to look after their own safety when operating on COVID-positive or unknown patients. David has brought on UK-based intensivists and anaesthetists to help with this and we are pleased to have opened it up to medics beyond our list of surgeons.
These online sessions have been very well received by the doctors. Lucien Wasingya, who we trained on a UK-based course back in 2018, said: "With advice from David and others from across the world on this webinar, I hope we can improve protection for our surgical teams and continue to provide surgery for those that absolutely need it."
We plan for these webinars to endure beyond this pandemic as an excellent way of supporting surgeons and keeping in touch with them.
War Doctor Heroes: Meet Dr Binod
We are proud to introduce Dr Binod Dangal in the latest instalment of our War Doctor Heroes series, which celebrates our global network of surgeons.
Binod grew up in Sindhupalchok, a remote, mountainous village in Nepal. Thanks to the support of a volunteer teacher from Italy, Binod was inspired to study medicine and, after training abroad, he now serves the community in the Dolakha region.
Nepal often suffers from earthquakes and landslides, and the difficult geographical terrain creates a barrier for Nepalese people seeking healthcare, particularly in the rural regions. Binod's patients sometimes have to travel for hours along bumpy, winding roads to reach the hospital, where a lack of resources often presents another obstacle to surgical treatment.
In 2018, the David Nott Foundation was able to offer Dr Binod a full scholarship to our UK-based STAE course. During this specialised training course, Binod was taught the proper management of orthopaedic and vascular injuries in low-resource settings, skills that he was able to put to use almost immediately.
Indeed, the day after he returned to Nepal, a nine-year-old child was brought to his hospital with a broken leg. She had fallen from a height and her left femur was completely crushed. Using the skills learnt on the STAE course, Binod was able to repair the blood vessels, externally fixate the bone, and perform a skin graft to repair her leg.
“With patience, teamwork and the right skills, it is even possible to manage complex trauma cases in low resource settings."
Doctors like Binod are at the heart of everything the Foundation seeks to achieve. With your support, we can train even more surgeons, helping them to serve the communities that need them most.
The Lancet: The COVID-19 response for vulnerable people affected by conflict
David Nott writes for The Lancet:
Next year I will have worked full time in the UK's National Health Service (NHS) for 40 years. I seem to be a survivor not only from the political rollercoaster that various governments have enacted on the NHS, but also from volunteering my surgical skills in places affected by conflict and natural disasters for the past 25 years. The experiences of the patients I have served whose lives have been impacted by war, injustice, and inhumanity during this time have given me insight into what life is really about. Every person on this planet has a right to live and survive by whatever means possible. Having seen the adverse health impacts of conflict and humanitarian disaster on patients, I understand the mass movement of unprotected people from war to places of relative calm.
Many of the estimated 70·8 million forcibly displaced people worldwide live in insanitary and inhospitable conditions, sometimes up to six families living in one tent in a 3 m area. At a time when so many people are living under lockdown because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, it is important to highlight the dreadful conditions that displaced people endure, which I have personally witnessed in refugee camps throughout the world. Apart from difficult living conditions in these camps, many people share one latrine and washing facilities and hundreds queue for food every day. People tolerate such conditions because they want to live. They have been forced to live this way by inhumane acts in conflict and authoritarianism.
Many people in high-income countries might think that these humanitarian problems happen to other people far away and have little to do with them. At the start of this year with the first reports of a new virus in China, some people watched with casual nonchalance. Even when Joseph Wu and colleagues reported in late January that COVID-19 was going to become a global pandemic requiring substantial preparation, this warning received insufficient attention. Too many of us were lulled into a false sense of security by shrugging politicians. Looking back now, it is hard to understand from a scientific and epidemiological standpoint that there seemed to be no one with sufficient leverage to wave that red flag very early on.
Read the full article here.
War Doctor Heroes: Meet Dr Koma
We are delighted to feature Dr Koma Akim, a general surgeon from South Sudan, as our latest War Doctor Hero.
South Sudan is the world's youngest sovereign state, having gained its independence from Sudan in 2011.
Since December 2013, the country has been embroiled in a civil war that has resulted in the displacement of more than 4 million people, and contributed to the endemic poverty that affects 80% of the population. Conflict between nomadic people, particularly over the issues of cattle and grazing rights, has compounded the violence, yet health resources and medical professionals remain scarce.
Dr Akim is one of only a handful of general surgeons in the country, and regularly deals with gunshot and arrow wounds as a result of cattle rustling. Those who make it to his hospital are often in a very bad way, suffering from internal bleeding and broken bones. Without any advanced orthopaedic instruments, Koma must often treat these fractures non-operatively, even though his patients would benefit from external fixators or skeletal traction.
Alongside his work in the district hospital, Dr Akim has also undertaken humanitarian missions in Ganyiel, in the Unity State of South Sudan. Koma recalled performing an emergency C-section for a retained second twin in the midst of the fighting here. In spite of the high maternal mortality associated with this complication, Dr Akim was miraculously able to save the lives of both the mother and her two babies.
These experiences motivated Koma to learn more and enhance his skill set, so that he could continue to alleviate the suffering of ordinary people in his country.
In 2019, Dr Akim attended our London based Surgical Training for the Austere Environment course (STAE). On this training programme, he learnt how to properly expose blood vessels and said “being able to practise it means I have the confidence to do it in a real situation. If I can do it, I can teach it.” This skills-sharing is a vital part of what we as a Foundation hope to achieve. By training one doctor on our course, we give them the knowledge and skills needed to teach countless more.
It is Koma's ambition to become a role model for the next generation of South Sudanese doctors. He hopes to inspire more to become surgeons in order to better serve the people of war torn South Sudan and told us that "my skills and theirs will be more needed here, in South Sudan, than anywhere else in the world."
To help us train more surgeons like Koma, you can make a donation here.
Yemen HEST January 2020
The DNF team, in partnership with MSF Spain, recently returned from our latest mission to Yemen which brought in 31 surgeons from across the country for a specialised five-day training course. Since 2015, Yemen has been the stage of one of the world's worst humanitarian catastrophes. Hundreds of thousands of Yemeni citizens have already lost their lives, and as the fighting continues, many more are in need of urgent medical treatment and supplies. At the front-lines of this conflict are the surgeons and medics who face the challenge of saving lives without losing their own, all the while limited by a lack of resources and insufficient training.
Our Hostile Environment Surgical Training course (HEST) was designed to confront this problem. Over the course of five days, our Faculty, comprising David Nott, Ammar Darwish, Pippa Letchworth, Pete Mathew and Rebekka Troller instructed surgeons on a wide range of trauma topics. By equipping these medics with the necessary knowledge, confidence and skills that they need to treat patients, we can improve the medical outcome for countless people.
The regions where HEST is taught often rule out cadaveric teaching, so the Foundation’s whole body simulator, Heston, was employed for training. This state of the art, bespoke simulator mimics the look and feel of real human flesh and features the full range of organs, blood vessels and key anatomies needed for facilitating learning.
Supporting Heston, we also deployed our neonatal models and our new VR learning experience, which simulates a mass casualty event. This immersive experience focuses on the triage of ten patients using International Committee of the Red Cross categories: serious wounds, second priority, superficial wounds and severe wounds.
To date, the Foundation has trained 803 medics across 28 courses, benefiting an estimated 1.7 million patients. Through this global network of war doctors, we can raise the standard of medical care worldwide and continue to save more lives and limbs. To help us train even more surgeons, you can donate here.
December 2019 Newsletter
In this Christmas newsletter we celebrate you, our wonderful supporters. Thanks to your kindness and generosity, this year we have been able to deliver nine specialised training courses in eight countries, training 127 medics from all across the world.
The doctors we train share their knowledge with colleagues, expanding our global network of skills sharing and improving patient outcomes in some of the world's most surgically austere environments.
Without your help, our work would simply not be possible. So, in this festive season, we want to thank you for everything that you do to support us.
We wish you a very merry Christmas and look forward to the new year ahead.
Our Impact Report has Landed!
We're delighted to share with you our first Impact Report. This report celebrates all that we have achieved as a Foundation since we started in 2015.
To read about how your donation has made a difference to the lives of countless patients, and to learn more about the surgeons we train, take a look at our Impact Report today!
Thank You from our Doctors
You may remember Dr Lucien from Uganda, who attended our specialised Surgical Training for Austere Environments (STAE) course in April.
Recently, Lucien travelled to London again for a conference and we were delighted to be able to see him. Presenting David with a beautiful wood carving, Lucien thanked the Foundation, saying: "Thank you for the training. I am so proud to be among the trainees".
Star Supporter: Bis Culley
Since 2016, Bis Culley has been working hard to curate our beautiful range of greetings cards. Contacting illustrators, liaising with donors and arranging all the postage and packaging, Bis is truly one of our standout supporters.
From these cards alone, Bis has raised over £11,000 for the David Nott Foundation, enough to train eleven surgeons on our overseas HEST course. Alongside this, Bis has also run several fundraising events for us and even applied for a grant on our behalf.
If you haven't had the chance to buy your Christmas cards yet, please do take a look at all the designs we have on offer. The deadline for ordering is Wednesday 18th December, so don't miss out! 100% of the profits will go towards training war doctors and saving lives.
Our Impact Report has Landed!
We are delighted to share with you our first ever Impact Report. Thanks to your continued support and generosity, we are proud that the Foundation has trained a total of 772 doctors across 27 courses, improving the patient outcomes for the medical victims of conflict all across the world.
Click on the link below to learn more about the surgeons we train and how they're impacting their communities.
With many thanks to Andrew Rees at Westco Communications and Paul Gray-Nicholson at Fusion Paper for so generously supporting the production of our Annual Report and Impact Report.
November 2019 Newsletter
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.
South America HEST October 2019
We've recently returned from running two HEST courses in South America, a first for the David Nott Foundation! Held in Santiago and Córdoba, these back to back courses drew in 52 surgeons from all over the continent, expanding our global network of war doctors and improving the quality of trauma surgery in regions where gunshot wounds, stabbings and motorcycle collisions are commonplace.
Bringing in doctors who work in public hospitals across South America, this four-day course aimed to equip surgeons with the necessary skills for dealing with cardiovascular injuries and ballistic wounds, as well as the vital decision-making skills needed for mass casualty scenarios and obstetric emergencies.
Our Faculty, comprising Ammar Darwish, Pete Matthews, Ana Milena Del Valle, Carlo Brugiotti and Carlos Pilasi Menichetti delivered specialised skills stations and inspired our surgeons to feel more confident about working in austere and hostile environments.
One such surgeon who benefited from training on decision making in trauma surgery, was Libertad. The only female, Jewish surgeon in all of Chile, Libertad told us: "Sometimes, when I am faced with a trauma patient, I just think, 'What can I do? What should I do?', but this course has massively boosted my confidence in making these decisions and now I will think 'I know what to do.' "
Another of our surgeons was Patricia from Venezuela. Alongside dealing with daily trauma injuries in her public hospital, Patricia has also spent extended periods of time volunteering in the Venezuelan Amazon, treating patients with limited access to hospitals and medical care.
Shortly after attending our course, Patricia went back to her public hospital and shared the knowledge she learnt on HEST with her colleagues. This skills sharing is a key aspect of what the foundation strives to achieve.
Through this global network of doctors, we can raise the standard of medical care worldwide and continue to save more lives and limbs. To help us train even more surgeons, you can donate here.