FRRHH News

Stuart J Fergusson reviews his Rural Surgical Fellowship ahead of work in the Shetland Islands. Stuart details the diverse experiences, procedures, and skills acquired during the fellowship, highlighting its role in meeting the unique healthcare needs of remote communities like the Shetland Islands.

The Faculty of Remote, Rural and Humanitarian Healthcare (FRRHH) celebrates its five-year journey in November 2023, marking significant achievements during this brief period. Initially established as the Faculty of Remote & Rural Healthcare (FRRH), it incorporated Humanitarian in 2020, addressing the pressing need in healthcare to define and set standards for both medical and non-medical personnel delivering services in remote and rural and humanitarian environments.

Judith Kendell, FRRHH member, discusses her role as an advisor in Anaesthesia with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), a humanitarian organisation providing medical care in conflict, disaster, remote and rural healthcare settings. The advisor's responsibilities include clinical work, teaching, and managerial tasks, while collaborating with other organisations to develop standards and guidelines for low-resource contexts.

In May of this year a truly international and multidisciplinary group of disaster and emergency medicine champions gathered in Killarney, Ireland for the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine Conference (WADEM). WADEM saw the presentation of research, an enthusiastic exchange of ideas, best practice and provided the opportunity to forge strong international connections.

Now more than ever, many countries recognise the need to grow and develop their national capabilities in a variety of fields towards an international standard. This is often particularly relevant in the area of the delivery of healthcare. Developing well trained doctors, medics, and nurses from local resources offers great benefit to industries operating in countries where traditionally there has been an overreliance on expatriates and foreign expertise.