Ukraine children’s clinical teams to be trained by the NHS

Children’s clinicians from hospitals in Ukraine, including areas which have seen significant shelling, are due to be trained by the NHS, as part of a four-week paediatric rehabilitation training programme.

The eight-strong group will receive specialist training across six English hospital trusts, including University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) which runs Bristol Royal Hospital for Children.

The groups will learn from NHS teams in intensive care, neurorehabilitation and sleep. They will then return to Ukraine, where they will train their colleagues, building paediatric healthcare capacity.

Children in Ukraine have been severely impacted by the war, with hundreds receiving blast injuries. There has been an increase in strokes and other acute conditions, alongside sleep issues. Children are experiencing bereavement, frequent air raid sirens, shelling and disruptions to home life and education. Hundreds of health and education facilities have been damaged.

Alexandra Norrish, managing director of the Children’s Hospital Alliance (CHA), said: “The impact of war on children and young people is devastating and their need for ongoing specialist healthcare has increased significantly. Our expert staff across children’s services in England will be working closely with the Ukrainian participants and providing invaluable training. We recognise the huge challenges of providing healthcare in Ukraine and we are delighted that the programme will help to improve vital services for children. It gives both NHS and Ukrainian healthcare staff a unique opportunity to learn from each other and we are so proud of our NHS for supporting such vital work.”

The training programme has been coordinated in the UK by the Children’s Hospital Alliance (CHA) and funded by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and the World Bank (Health Enhancement and Lifesaving – HEAL) with the support of the World Health Organisation's (WHO) country office in Ukraine. NHS staff are giving their time and specialist expertise.

Mr Martin Gargan, Clinical Chair for the Division of Women's and Children's Services at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust said: “We are delighted to welcome our colleagues from Ukraine to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. We hope this visit is a chance to share life-saving techniques which the team can take home to continue their vital work in incredibly challenging conditions.”