Target country/region: Ukraine (including Lviv, Kiev, Kharkiv, Kramatorsk, Mykolaiv)

Duration: since March 2022

Brief description: In seven different courses, we provide further training in emergency medicine for laypersons and professionals in Ukraine, thus supporting the establishment and improvement of local rescue structures. So far, over 1500 people have participated in 11 cities on seven different topics.

History: Shortly after the war against Ukraine began, we sent a medical team to assist. The medical care structures, which were already very different locally before the war, were overloaded at the latest when the fighting began. At the same time, many Ukrainians, local initiatives and organizations wanted to help close this gap. In addition to material, the official rescue forces and volunteers often lacked specific training in the care of war injuries.

We started with initial training courses in the field of immediate life-saving measures in western Ukraine. We now offer seven courses in the area of pre-hospital care, ranging from acute injury care, initial measures in the case of blast injuries, to learning ventilation techniques and dealing with biological, chemical and radioactive hazards.

Upon completion of the course, candidates receive a certificate. Furthermore, we are striving for certification of the courses according to the international Continuing Medical Education Standard (CME) and are working together with the Ternopil National Medical University, the largest medical training center in Ukraine, among others.

In the future, the focus will increasingly be on standardizing the training courses for a handover and the train-the-trainer approach, so that courses can also be offered locally by our partners themselves.