Southampton Children's Hospital welcomes clinicians from Ukraine for specialist training
Clinicians from Southampton Children’s Hospital (SCH) are delivering a specialist training programme to a group of medics from Ukraine, focusing on paediatric rehabilitation.
The overseas clinicians, who currently work in children's hospitals across Ukraine – including regions heavily affected by shelling – are participating in the four-week NHS programme which has been coordinated by the Children’s Hospital Alliance (CHA).
During this time, they will gain expertise from clinical teams – including doctors, nurses and physiotherapists – specialising in intensive care, neurorehabilitation, neonatology, emergency medicine and sleep disorders.
Upon completing the programme, the clinicians will return to home where they will train their colleagues, building paediatric healthcare capacity in their regions.
Children in Ukraine have been deeply impacted by the ongoing war, with hundreds suffering from blast injuries. There has also been a significant rise in strokes and other acute conditions, alongside widespread sleep issues.
The group in Southampton forms part of a larger team of eight clinicians visiting children's hospitals across England. The programme at SCH spans two weeks, and they have now reached the halfway point of their training in Southampton.
They have been observing clinics, shadowing clinicians and meeting patients with a number of paediatric specialty teams, including time on the paediatric intensive care unit, the neonatal unit at Princess Anne Hospital and with the orthopaedic department.
They then spent the rest of the week with paediatric neurology and neurorehabilitation team before moving onto the children's emergency department.
One clinician will be staying for an extended period on the neonatal unit to experience the full breadth of neonatal care including antenatal counselling, intensive care, special care, neonatal clinics and transport medicine.
Alona Bezlegka, a physical and occupational therapist from Okhmatdyt National Children's Specialized Hospital in Kyiv, said: "During my first week at University Hospital Southampton, I witnessed what true teamwork looks like - doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and psychologists all working around one child.
“I was deeply impressed by the attention to detail - from artwork in the rooms to smart innovations like voice recorders that allow doctors to instantly input information into the system, streamlining communication. It’s an experience I truly hope to bring back to Ukraine."
In addition to the physical suffering, many children in Ukraine are also experiencing bereavement, frequent air raid sirens, shelling and severe disruptions to home life and education.
The country has also seen hundreds of health and education facilities damaged, placing further strain on their critical services.
This programme aims to equip medical professionals with the skills and knowledge needed to provide essential care and support for these children, helping to rebuild paediatric healthcare in affected communities.
Ahmed Osman, a paediatric intensive care consultant from UHS, said: "It has been a pleasure hosting our colleagues from Ukraine, and we have felt extremely proud to show them the excellent care our teams are able to provide at UHS.
“Everyone instantly jumped at the chance to help. The hardest part was trying to fit all of the offers of support into just one week!
“We hope the experience here will allow them to take back valuable skills and knowledge to help the children of Ukraine who are living in unimaginably difficult conditions."
This isn’t the first time clinicians from Southampton Children’s Hospital and UHS have played key role in supporting the children of Ukraine.
In 2022, Michael Griksaitis, a consultant in paediatric intensive care and a key member of the training programme in Southampton, led a team from SCH to evacuate 21 Ukrainian children suffering from cancer, bringing them to England for urgent medical treatment.
Their courageous efforts provided these young patients – some who were critically ill – with a vital opportunity for care and recovery and they were honoured later in the same year by winning the ‘Best Team’ award at the national Who Cares Wins awards.
While earlier this year Leo Krivskiy, consultant anaesthetist at UHS, undertook an epic challenge by rowing solo across the Atlantic – starting from Gran Canaria and finishing in Barbados – to raise funds for Ukraine medical charity, Ukrops.
The charity was set up by Mr Krivskiy to help raise awareness, deliver essential training and supply emergency medical aid to Ukrainian medics working on the frontline.
Other children’s hospitals participating in the training programme are Alder Hey, Bristol, Sheffield, Oxford and Nottingham.
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.”
She added: “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 programme has been 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.