Professor Christopher Fitzpatrick:

As Professor Bury highlighted, we now have enough funding to undertake a visit to Ukraine in the early autumn to train up to 150 participants and also to provide them with clinical emergency equipment and drugs, and training materials, so that they can cascade the training to colleagues. In addition, we will next week start to requisition emergency materials and drugs to send as a resupply for those who have previously attended our courses. That will bring us up to the end of the year. What we would greatly appreciate from this committee is a recommendation that this model of funding continues into next year and for as long as the conflict continues. We anticipate that funding of up to €1 million will be required next year in order to undertake at least two visits to Ukraine to provide a series of courses on each training mission with up to 150 to 200 participants depending on the demand. It is also important that we continue to supply those who previously attended our courses with clinical equipment and drugs that are difficult to access.

In addition, as Professor Bury highlighted, we have developed an in-house 3D printing system of anatomical models that we use as part of our simulation training. When we visit Ukraine, we bring a significant number of them with us and leave them behind so that course participants can use them to train their colleagues. For the core activity of the UCD Ukraine Trauma Project, we would like the committee's recommendation to be that the funding will continue into next year. We will look to escalate our activity and request funding of up to €1 million. We acknowledge, as Professor Bury said, our main funders who, to date, have been the HSE global health programme and the Irish Red Cross Society. We also acknowledge the support of the Minister for Health, who has taken a special interest in this project.