Canada Ukraine Foundation: The missions of Canadian doctors in Ukraine operated on 120 patients and consulted about 200 patients

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The Foundation operates on patients who suffered at Maidan uprisings and those who returned from the warzone in the East Ukraine. Offering medical trainings for doctors from Ukraine the Foundation promotes higher standards in military medicine.

Kyiv, April 28, 2016. The Canada Ukraine Foundation implements the program of medical training for the military. All in all, there were four missions of Canadian doctors; the last two were financed by the Canadian government. Funding totalled 1 million 200 thousand Canadian dollars. The missions performed reconstructive complex surgical procedures on victims of the Maidan and on the military injured in Eastern Ukraine. Besides, the missions trained Ukrainian military doctors according to the Western standards of medicine. During the four missions – from September 2015 to March 2016 – 120 patients were. The last two missions operated on almost 80 patients and consulted about 200. This was reported by Krystina Waler, director of humanitarian initiatives, Canada Ukraine Foundation, at a briefing at Ukraine Crisis Media Center. “We hope that the next medical mission will be held in autumn 2016, if we find the interested donors,” she added.

According to Ms. Waler, as part of the program the Main Clinical Military Hospital received equipment worth 700 000 Canadian dollars. “We hope that Ukrainian colleagues will use the gained experience, equipment and continue the work we started together,” said the director of humanitarian initiatives of the Canada Ukraine Foundation. She informed that the hospital staff was trained in one of the best educational centers in Switzerland.

Dr. Ulana Suprun, Director of Humanitarian Initiatives of the Ukrainian World Congress, director of the NGO «Patriot Defence», informed that 97 doctors were trained within the “Ukrainian Trauma Life Support” program. The program attracted doctors of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Ministry of Internal Affairs, National Guard, Security Service of Ukraine, and State Border Service of Ukraine. “We have not completed our program of courses for the military. We have not confined ourselves to the courses for the military. We have already had the first course for civilian doctors and we will continue conducting them for free,” said Ms. Suprun. According to Dr. Oleksandr Linchevskyi, medical director, NGO “Patriot Defence,” the main objective of the courses is to teach doctors to treat patients during the first few hours after injury. “Greater number of injured military and civilian persons dies during the first hours after the trauma. High-grade quality training helps save lives,” noted Mr. Linchevskyi. He added that the civil trauma surgery experts and military trauma experts from the US were involved in trainings. The courses were quite practical, focused on developing skills, scenarios and participating in simulations.

“These missions were a master class for both parties. The Canadian doctors learned a lot from the Ukrainian colleagues; and the military doctors from the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine learned a lot of new things,” added Dr. Igor Fedirko, Col. of Medical Service, director of the Craniofacial Surgery and Dentistry Clinic at the Ministry of Defence Main Clinical Military Hospital.

The Canada Ukraine Foundation was established by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress to coordinate, develop, organize and deliver assistance projects generated by Canadians and directed to Ukraine. The NGO “Patriot Defence” was founded in May 2014 as a humanitarian initiative of the Ukrainian World Congress to consistently develop tactical medicine and emergency care in Ukraine.