Canadian medical mission to treat Ukrainian military and civilians

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Kyiv, October 5, 2015.  A team of 22 Canadian medics will work in Ukraine from October 24 till November 1 as part of the third such mission. Canadian surgeons, anesthesiologists and nurses, together with Ukrainian surgeons, фwill operate on military service people and civilians wounded in course of the events in eastern Ukraine and on Maidan. The treatment will take place at Kyiv central military hospital, said Krystina Waler, Director of Humanitarian Initiatives for the Canada Ukraine Foundation. “We are conducting craniofacial reconstruction surgery and upper limbs surgery,” noted Waler. The Canadian government disbursed 1.2 million Canadian dollars for this programme. It covers the cost of the surgery as well as of the required equipment that will remain in the hospital after. “Equipment costs are approximately USD 700,000, including instruments for craniofacial reconstruction, operating tables, operating lights to renovate  the entire hospital department and make it possible for the doctors in Ukraine to continue to conduct the surgeries,” elaborated the Humanitarian Initiatives Director. “Telemedicine” is to be also introduced – Ukrainian and Canadian doctors will be able to follow surgeries via cameras and will be able to communicate. It is planned to conduct up to 40 operations within this mission. According to Krystina Waler over 100 operations for more than 60 persons were conducted in course of the two previous missions of Canadian medics to Ukraine.

One of the wounded, Eduard Malyovany, first sergeant of the “Kyiv Rus” battalion, was operated on in May 2015 during the second mission of the Canadian surgeons. “My facial (cranial) nerve was damaged. Thanks to their assistance I started looking better and as they say my facial gestures started functioning better. Before that I was not able to smile, […] it is now much better,” said the serviceman. Doctors promise that he will have plastic surgery slightly later.

Roman Fishchuk, Project Coordinator in Ukraine at the Canada Ukraine Foundation, announced that they are searching for patients across the entire country. He noted that first of all they are looking for those wounded earlier and whose condition is stable enough. “They need to recover from the initial injury and not to have inflammation. For those whose trauma is recent, we want to inform that the next mission is planned for February 2016. If a patient cannot have surgery at this time, definitely he can get a consultation and can be scheduled for a surgery in February,” elaborated Fishchuk. The wounded are encouraged to call the hotline already now: +38 097 005 55 45, +38 095 435 30 33.

“The Canadian government disbursed 200,000 Canadian dollars to start the “S.M.A.R.T.: Safe Management and Resuscitation of Trauma” training course in Ukraine for surgeons, anesthesiologists and trauma surgeons, said Ulyana Suprun, Director of Humanitarian Initiatives at the Ukrainian World Congress and Director of the NGO “Patriot Defense”. The first  training course took place last week as a pilot programme and lasted for five days. “Twenty four civilian doctors and five combat medics completed the course on aid provision for a trauma at the pre-hospital stage and are already working in hospitals,” she explained. Two to three hours in the morning are dedicated to lectures, the rest of the time  to practical exercises. The course has been extended for seven days as the specialists saw that Ukrainian medics have poor skills in pre-hospital medical aid for trauma. “In the new training course two and a half days  are devoted to pre-hospital aid and then four and a half days to aid provision in hospital,” said Suprun. At the end of the training medics pass an exam and get a certificate for having completed the course. Instructors come from the UK and Canada. According to the Director of Humanitarian Initiatives at the Ukrainian World Congress, they have agreed to cooperate with the Ukrainian Military Medical Academy and train doctors from Ukraine’s National Guard, the Security Service, the Interior Ministry and the Border Guard Service.  Ulyana Suprun announced that the next four stages of training will take place in November, January and March. “We shall invite 16 military and eight civilian doctors to the training,” noted the Director of “Patriot Defense” NGO.