Children’s clinicians from hospitals in Ukraine, including areas which have seen significant shelling, are due to be trained by the NHS, as part of a four-week paediatric rehabilitation training programme.
The eight-strong group will receive specialist training across six English hospital trusts, including Alder Hey, learning from NHS teams in intensive care, neurorehabilitation and sleep. They will then return to Ukraine, where they will train their colleagues, building paediatric healthcare capacity.
Ivanna Korovynska, Anna Pelishenko, and Ivanna Kupyna will spend a week at Alder Hey learning from colleagues in our intensive care, neurorehabilitation with a particular focus on intensive care, neurorehabilitation and sleep.
Children in Ukraine have been severely impacted by the war, with hundreds receiving blast injuries. There has been an increase in strokes and other acute conditions, alongside sleep issues. Children are experiencing bereavement, frequent air raid sirens, shelling and disruptions to home life and education. Hundreds of health and education facilities have been damaged.
“We are delighted to welcome Ivanna, Anna and Ivanna to Alder Hey as part of the World Bank / Children’s Hospital Alliance visit to the UK. We are proud to be part of this important international partnership, supporting them in discussing the care of children (particularly in the area of rehabilitation) that can then be shared back home. Their time with us is not just about their training—it’s about helping to strengthen paediatric care in Ukraine. We hope the insights they gain here will make a lasting impact where they are needed most.”
Dr Katherine Birch, Director of the Alder Hey Academy
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. 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 training programme has been coordinated in the UK by the Children’s Hospital Alliance (CHA) and 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.
Over four weeks, a number of Ukrainian clinicians will visit NHS Trusts across the country as part of the Children’s Hospital Alliance. This includes Oxford University Hospitals, Sheffield Children’s, Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, Nottingham Children’s Hospital, and Southampton Children’s Hospital.