David Nott Foundation turns seven

This month marks seven years since our Foundation was formed to train doctors to save lives in conflict. In celebration, we are delighted to share our annual report for 2021/22.

Our Impact Report 2022 also highlights where we’ve been in the world, the stories of the doctors we’ve trained, and our recent work in response to the war in Ukraine.

Elly Nott, our Co-Founder and Chief Executive, said: “Our mission is to provide the best in surgical training, for the benefit of those who need it most. We are so grateful for your support and enabling us to make safer surgery a reality for more people worldwide.”

“We believe the right to safe, skilled surgical care is universal. Yet worldwide, some five billion people lack access to safe, affordable surgical and anaesthesia care when needed1. In conflict, access to care becomes all the more important yet all the harder to attain.

Our mission is to provide the best in surgical training, for the benefit of those who need it most. We strive to empower surgical teams in countries affected by conflict to better care for their communities, creating a model of sustainability and independence.

As the Covid pandemic eased, we responsibly returned to training abroad. Since November 2021, we have trained 84 healthcare professionals over three Hostile Environment Surgical Training (HEST) courses held in Iraq, Somaliland and Turkey, for Syrian doctors. We held the courses with operational partners, grateful for their local knowledge, connections and assistance.

In December 2021, Covid restrictions limited the ability of doctors to travel to the UK for our Surgical Training for Austere Environments (STAE) course, so we opened up 14 places to refugees in the UK from Syria and Afghanistan. Further demonstrating our responsiveness to the needs of healthcare professionals worldwide, my Co-Founder ran a 12-hour intensive training session for Ukrainian doctors, nine days after the invasion of their country began.

We cannot do what we do without committed teachers. In July 2021, we held our first Train the Trainers course and want to expand our faculty further, incorporating teachers from countries where we train, demonstrating our commitment to sustainability and empowering local healthcare professionals.

We are so grateful for your support and enabling us to make safer surgery a reality for more people worldwide.”

David’s decision to volunteer on the frontline

David’s decision to volunteer from David Nott Foundation on Vimeo.