Kathmandu (ICRC) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Dhulikhel Hospital of Kathmandu University are jointly organizing three emergency-room trauma courses this year, the first of which will take place in Dhulikhel, Kavre, from 4 to 6 December. A total of 22 doctors will attend the course, which aims to enhance and complement the skills of doctors in managing emergency trauma cases.
Guna Raj Lohani, head of the Curative Service Division of the Ministry of Health and Populations, Rajendra Koju, associate dean and administrative director of Dhulikhel Hospital, Kathmandu University, and Alfredo Mallet, deputy head of the ICRC delegation in Nepal, will jointly open the course on 4 December. "The ICRC particularly values the emergency room trauma course in Nepal for various reasons. On the one hand, Nepal needs to increase its capacity to deal with trauma cases, as it lies in a seismically active area and the number of casualties could be very high in the event of an earthquake. On the other hand, during the last four years the trauma course has led to a trend of improvement in Nepal," said Mr Mallet. "This course has just been revised in accordance with suggestions from former participants. At the same time, the trainers have been giving this same course abroad. This shows that progress is being made and that the Nepal course is gaining status."
Since 2011, Dhulikhel Hospital has been working together with the ICRC to gradually take charge of the course. "Dhulikhel Hospital aims to offer and develop such courses on its own," said Dr Koju. "This course is crucial to building and expanding a much-needed pool of doctors with expertise in trauma management."
An ICRC specialist surgeon, Dr Enzo Chemello, will coordinate the course with support from three doctors from Dhulikhel Hospital and one from Armed Police Force Hospital. The ICRC has already organized 10 such courses in Nepal. By the end of 2014, a total of 271 doctors and specialists from 99 hospitals of 73 districts in Nepal will have benefited.
This week's course will be immediately followed by two further courses with the aim of reaching more doctors working in government hospitals from all regions of the country. The next course is scheduled to take place in Nepalgunj from 8 to10 December and the last one in Hetauda from 12 to 14 December.
For further information, please contact:
Binod Kafle, ICRC Kathmandu, tel: +977 1 4107285 or +977 98510 74295
