Addenbrooke’s doctor shares experience of working in Ukraine
An Addenbrooke’s consultant who spent three weeks working in a hospital in war-torn Ukraine has spoken of the incredible courage of patients and staff.
Dr Rokas Tamosauskas, a specialist in anaesthesia and pain medicine, was struck by the efforts of colleagues who worked relentlessly to treat the war casualties, who in turn were determined to fight another day.
He was stationed at a district general hospital in Central-Eastern Ukraine where war-wounded casualties arrived in large number around the clock.
He said: “I worked as an anaesthetist in theatres and treated exclusively the casualties of war. These were people who had suffered shrapnel, gunshot, blast wounds and burns. The numbers were depressingly high, up to 15-20 cases in just two trauma theatres per 24 hours.
“Other members of the team were helping as trauma surgeons, general, and urology surgeons, anaesthetic theatre practitioners, and ward nurses. The nurses deserve medals for their relentless 24/7 shift work pattern, re-dressing wounds, administering medications, analgesia, and cheering up patients along the way.
“They were noticeably tired, having worked seven days a week, with no prospect of annual or study leave on the horizon. However, resilience, high spirits, and humour were great to see during my day-to-day interactions with staff.
“Although I have worked at Addenbrooke’s for more than 15 years, I am proud to be a Lithuanian national and follow issues related to health in Lithuania closely. This is how I learned about volunteering in Ukraine.
“Following an application, I was selected from more than 300 volunteer medics by the Lithuanian Government’s Ministry of Health to provide aid to our Ukrainian colleagues.”
Dr Tamosauskas led one of two Lithuanian teams who were intially sent to Kyiv but then discovered they were needed more urgently in central Ukraine.
“There were burnt-out houses and industrial/storage areas along the motorway west of Kyiv. We counted ourselves lucky that we only witnessed one episode of actual fighting,” he said
“Colleagues ask, will I go back? Of course, I would! There is a lot of work left to do in the hospital that I worked at. There are more casualties of war being admitted that need care and treatment. Talking to my colleagues and new friends in Ukraine, I am concerned that the workload has increased in the last weeks since our group left. Unfortunately, I used my annual leave to go to Ukraine and there isn’t much left at the moment.
“However, I can see there would be a lot of value in helping to arrange a shipment, or even shipments, of disposable vacuum (VAC) dressings and other medical and anaesthesia equipment. Certainly, this won’t be my last time in Ukraine.”
Visit gov.uk/government/news/ukraine-what-you-can-do-to-help and Cambridge Global Health Partnerships at cambridgeghp.org.
