Abstract

Abstract: Dr Laura Hobbs. The Trauma Operational and Advisory Team (TOpAT) is a small, specialised team that works as part of the WHO Operational Trauma Initiative in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. The TOpAT is a mobile team that works in humanitarian emergencies and provides both technical direction, and hands- on support and collaborates with the University of Cambridge to develop research in the area of trauma systems. In this talk, Dr Hobbs, who is a TOpAT trainer will discuss the work of TOpAT and its current challenges in course delivery in the Middle East including Gaza, Egypt, Syria and Jordan.

Abstract: Dr Tom Bashford leads the International Health Systems group, in Cambridge which is an interdisciplinary team comprising of academic engineers and clinicians. The group conducts research in the improvement of healthcare, through systems thinking, with partners across the world. Systems engineering and design offer powerful perspectives for understanding the complexity of healthcare, particularly for teams working across a cultural and linguistic boundary. In this talk, Dr Bashford will give an overview of the research being conducted within the department and will offer why this area of research is key to understanding health system challenges globally.

About the speakers: Dr Laura Hobbs is a NIHR Clinical Research Fellow within the NIHR Global Health Research Group on Acquired Brain and Spin Injury, and a Consultant Anaesthetist at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust. She is primarily based within the International Health Systems group in the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge and works with partners in Uganda and the World Health Organisation’s Trauma Operational and Advisory Team.

Dr Tom Bashford’s principal academic interest is in developing a systems understanding of interventions to improve peri-operative care in low income settings, working closely with the NIHR Global Health Research Group on Neurotrauma. His introduction to global health came working with VSO in Ethiopia between 2011-2012, during which time he closely worked with Lifebox Foundation. He has worked in Myanmar with the Cambridge-Yangon Trauma Intervention Project since 2013, and the Uganda Cambridge Partnership since 2020.

Please register here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/health-systems-in-conflict-tickets-830145205657