A series of key new initiatives aimed at supporting those working in remote, rural and humanitarian healthcare have been unveiled by a leading surgical College.
The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd), which is home to the Faculty of Remote, Rural and Humanitarian Healthcare (FRRHH), has announced a number of significant new updates which will enable individuals working in these sectors to improve and develop their skills.
A FRRHH fellowship has been launched, with up to £5,000 funding available for each successful application.
The fellowship is open to members of the faculty who wish to or currently work within remote, rural and humanitarian healthcare, and require financial support for projects and activities such as research, training, education and travel opportunities.
All disciplines and career grades are invited to apply, including clinical and non-clinical healthcare professionals before the 01 October 2021 deadline.
In addition, a new course has been developed for healthcare professionals looking to commence or develop a career in humanitarian healthcare. The educational resource will provide guidance on adapting clinical skills to the humanitarian healthcare environment and preparing for deployment to a humanitarian emergency.
The Introduction to Humanitarian Healthcare course takes an online format in order to allow deploying agencies to focus more time and attention on key training required for this work.
It is hoped the faculty will continue to grow its membership over the coming year and become a global network for remote, rural and humanitarian healthcare professionals working in clinical and non-clinical roles.
The Faculty works closely with emergency health charity UK-Med, the founder of which, Professor Tony Redmond OBE, has been appointed to the Faculty’s Executive Committee to help shape its strategic focus and drive forward its efforts to support healthcare professionals in the sector.
An MOU between the two parties was signed this week (Monday 02 August) to further cement the partnership, focusing specifically on the progression of the Capabilities Framework currently being developed by the Faculty which will provide a standardised definition and scope of practice and capabilities required of those working in clinical and non-clinical roles in remote, rural and humanitarian settings, and is due to launch the first stage of this framework at the end of the year.
Professor Tony Redmond OBE said:
This is a natural partnership. UK-Med and The Faculty of Remote, Rural and Humanitarian Healthcare share the common goals of helping the sick and injured wherever they may be and strengthening such altruism with training and professionalism.
By working together, UK-Med and the humanitarian community can draw on the support of a College which has been active in healthcare education and support for over 500 years, and the College can draw on the rich experience of those engaged in emergency humanitarian assistance around the world.
Tony Redmond, has over thirty years’ experience of international emergency humanitarian aid, and has organised medical support in response to some of the world’s most challenging humanitarian disasters, including earthquakes in Haiti and Iran, the UN air crash in Kosovo, conflicts in Bosnia, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines and establishing tented hospitals for Kurdish refugees on the Iran-Iraq border
David Wightwick, CEO of UK-Med, said:
Joining forces with the Royal Collee of Surgeons of Edinburgh is a real step forward for the delivery of professional healthcare within humanitarian response. Building on the RCSEd’s international reputation, we are developing a platform for training and recognition of healthcare within humanitarian response as a discipline in its own right, improving professional development across the sector and driving up standards of healthcare delivery for the most vulnerable people on the planet.
These announcements mark the latest milestones for the faculty, which was formally launched in 2018 as the Faculty of Remote and Rural Healthcare, incorporating those working in the humanitarian field in 2020 to become the Faculty of Remote, Rural & Humanitarian Healthcare.
ENDS
- Click here to find out more about the fellowship.
- Click here to find out more about the Introduction to Humanitarian Healthcare Course.
- Click here to find out more about the FRRHH.
Issued by tigerbond on behalf of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. For further information, please contact the team on rcsed@tigerbond.com or 07730 415 096.
NOTES TO EDITORS
About The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh:
- RCSEd was first incorporated as the Barber Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1505 and is based in Edinburgh and Birmingham.
- It is one of the oldest surgical corporations in the world with a worldwide membership of almost 29,000, which includes 15,000 members in the UK.
- The College also has a significant global presence with members in over 100 countries worldwide.
- The College promotes the highest standards of surgical and dental practice through education, training and examinations, its liaison with external medical bodies and representation of the modern surgical and dental workforce.
- It is also home to the UK’s only Faculty of Surgical Trainers, open to all those with an interest in surgical training regardless of College affiliation.
- Find RCSEd at rcsed.ac.uk, on Twitter, on Facebook, and Instagram.
About UK-Med:
- UK-Med is a Manchester-based charity with thirty years’ experience responding to health emergencies around the world. Our first response was in 1988, when a team of eight Manchester clinicians led by our founder Prof. Tony Redmond went to Armenia in aid of those who had been hit by a devastating earthquake.
- When Ebola hit West Africa in 2014, we recruited NHS volunteers to help in treatment centres in Sierra Leone.
- UK-Med is a partner in the UK Emergency Medical Team (UK EMT) - the front line of the UK government’s response to a humanitarian crisis overseas - funded by UK aid from the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office. We prepare teams of clinicians who are ready to respond to disasters anywhere in the world within twenty-four hours. The EMT network is driven by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and ensures that teams that respond following disasters are well trained, self-sufficient and have the skills and equipment to respond effectively rather than imposing a burden on the national system.
- We save lives in emergencies. When health systems are overwhelmed we send expert health staff to where they’re needed fast. We support communities prepare for future crises.
- We are on the frontline of the global response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, working in Cambodia, Ghana, South Africa, Zambia, Chad, Burkina Faso, Lebanon, Eswatini, Lesotho and Cox’s Bazaar in Bangladesh. We also joined the team that set up Nightingale Hospital North West and have been providing remote support to responders across the world. We currently have responses in Djibouti – east Africa, Botswana and Namibia
- You can find out more about UK-Med on our website or Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.