Handicap International UK is partnering with medical charity UK-Med to train UK-based physiotherapists and occupational therapists on the UK International Emergency Trauma Register (UKIETR).
This exciting and innovative project means that for the first time, rehabilitation staff will be a key part of an emergency medical register, and will be able to deploy to disasters such as earthquakes and tsunami at short notice.
Rehabilitation Project Manager Pete Skelton explains:
“The staff we train will be providing acute rehabilitation and will be working with people who have sustained injuries including fractures, amputations and spinal cord injuries to make sure they get the best possible care. They will also link in with other Handicap International projects to make sure that even after the medical team leaves, the rehabilitation of injured people continues.”
The register and the training are supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), meaning that UKIETR members can deploy at short notice from their normal UK jobs, and the costs to their employer are covered. The team will deploy with a field hospital provided by Merlin and Save the Children.
Medical charity UK-Med first launched the UKIETR in January 2011, and surgical team members from their register have deployed in support of humanitarian operations in Haiti, Libya and Tunisia. DFID and the Department of Health have worked with UK Med to incorporate the register into the UK’s overseas disaster response.
For more information on the rehabilitation component of the Register please contact peter.skelton@hi-uk.org
Source Article from Humanity & Inclusion
