As the war in Ukraine enters its third year, WHO is introducing a new basic emergency-care course for health-care workers to improve their skills in providing initial emergency care to critically ill patients. It also incorporates a train-the-trainer model that will enable participants to become national instructors who educate other medical personnel.
All health-сare workers – whether in emergency care, primary care, nursing or any other field – need to know how to assess and treat life-threatening conditions. For a country dealing with active warfare, this knowledge is even more critical. The new course teaches standardized, systematic approaches to providing fast and effective emergency care.
“Providing life-saving trauma and emergency health care to the most vulnerable populations and communities affected by the war remains the priority for 2024,” said Emanuele Bruni, Incident Manager at the WHO Country Office in Ukraine. “We are here to help the country build a resilient health-care system despite the ongoing devastation.”
A course for all, regardless of speciality
A national rollout of 10 training sessions, each 5 days long, took place this spring in Lviv, Kyiv, Poltava, Cherkasy, Rivne, Vinnytsya, Kharkiv and Ternopil. Participants included physicians, ambulance workers and nurses.
“To support nurses’ professional growth and strengthen their vital role in Ukraine's health care, we made sure that 50% of enrolled participants in the course were nurses,” noted Dorin Rotaru, Emergency Medical Services and Clinical Management Specialist at the WHO Country Office in Ukraine.
Looking ahead, WHO and the Ministry of Health of Ukraine are discussing the integration of the course into the national education programme of medical universities and other postgraduate education programmes.
WHO developed the course in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Federation for Emergency Medicine. Financial support was provided by the United States Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations.