Trauma Surgeon (Khartoum) – Emergency

COUNTRY Sudan

REQUIRED LANGUAGE English

TYPE OF CONTRACT Fixed-term contract – paid (6 months)

NECESSARY REQUIREMENTS Specialisation in General Surgery; at least 5 years’ relevant experience as first surgeon; hospital experience in the General, Emergency and/or Trauma surgery departments.

This role requires complete and autonomous management of trauma and surgical emergencies (including major surgical procedures), and shared clinical responsibility in post-operative care.

In particular, the Trauma Surgeon should be familiar with:

– penetrating and blunt trauma to the head and neck, chest, abdomen and limbs, with possible vascular and neurologic associated injuries, as well as the basic principles of open and closed fractures management (traction, external fixation, POP, etc), principles of damage control surgery

– non-traumatic emergency surgery

BACKGROUND AND ORGANISATION OF WORK

Since 15 April, when the fighting erupted between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), nearly 1,000 civilians have been killed, and about 6,000 injured across the country, according to the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), as of 17 June. The violence has also impacted health workers, hospitals, ambulances and patients. Dozens of attacks on Sudan’s healthcare system have been verified by the WHO; health facilities have been damaged in shelling and arson attacks, vital medical supplies looted, health workers killed, injured and arrested, and patients deliberately obstructed from accessing health care. Fuel shortages and electricity cuts have also forced many hospitals in Sudan to suspend operations.

In particular, the area in Soba Hilla in Khartoum, where EMERGENCY’s Salam Centre for Cardiac Surgery is located, has witnessed multiple bouts of fighting and skirmishes due to the presence of an RSF base nearby. This has entailed that the number of cardiac patients reaching the Salam Centre has decreased due to access problems; at the same time, more and more people showed up in need of stabilization and trauma surgery due to conflict-related injuries.

In light of this, and following requests from local health authorities**, a special emergency team** was deployed on the field to assess the situation and identify an appropriate emergency response, considering the security circumstances and the current absence of other working health facilities.

It was decided to proceed with the trauma intervention but within the bounds of the Salam Centre, so as to have both enough staff and equipment to carry out activities with ease. Moreover, the project can take advantage fo the existing stocks of drugs, consumable and equipment.

The project will provide access to free of charge and lifesaving specialized surgical treatments and stabilization for the conflict-affected population.

The Trauma Surgeon will work as part of a team of international specialists performing safe surgical procedures for emergency interventions usually for trauma and weapon wounded individuals, organising and carrying out the training of the local medical and health care staff in his/her area of responsibility.

The international Surgeon is responsible to the Medical Coordinator, who is in charge of the management and organisation of the project.

The new surgical section of the hospital planned in the Salam Centre will be composed by 2 OT Rooms, 1 Emergency room, 1 HDU with 10 beds and a post-acute ward, for a total number of 40 beds plus physiotherapy services for rehabilitation for in and out patients.

The Trauma Surgeon is usually present in the hospital from 08 to 16, but is on-call 24/7 in case of emergency (including possible Mass Casualties). Daily activity includes ward round, work in the Emergency Department and Operating Theatres. The team is completed by local and international Operating Theatre specialists – anaesthetist, anaesthetist technicians, theatre nurses.

The Trauma Surgeon organises the rota of the local staff in his/her area of responsibility, guaranteeing staff coverage 24/7.

DUTIES AND REPONSIBILITIES

All EMERGENCY personnel are expected to know and follow the hospital admissions criteria, guidelines, protocols, and the diagnosis and treatment standards in use in the Centre, and to ensure the correct compilation of clinical records and statistics in both computer and paper formats.

The main duties and responsibilities of the Trauma Surgeon are:

• Management of surgical procedures (pre, peri and post operative) for trauma and surgical emergencies (e.g. treatment of war wounds, airway management, abdominal and chest trauma, head trauma and traumatic brain injury, vascular trauma, fractures management, mass casualty etc.)
• participation in the post-operative care and clinical management of surgical patients;
• mentoring of resident physicians (where present);
• assisting in clinical research and record keeping as required by the scientific programmes of the specialist sector of the Medical Division of EMERGENCY.
• Clinical activity and decisions regarding patient treatment must always be discussed and shared with the Medical Coordinator, national and international medical and surgical colleagues, and the national and international nursing personnel.

MANAGEMENT AND TRAINING OF LOCAL PERSONNEL

Clinical activities and patient care are always carried out alongside and in collaboration with local personnel, who thus benefit from training in the field. There is also provision for more specific teaching activities, managed by the international specialists, in accordance with the clinical protocols in use and as agreed with the Medical Coordinator.

CASELOAD AND EQUIPMENT

The caseload varies according to the project and the admissions criteria of the hospital: War Surgery, Emergency Surgery and Elective Surgery. The technological level of the equipment present in the Centres is suited to the clinical and managerial protocols in use, and the level of professional autonomy of the national staff, with the aim of achieving – and sustaining – high standards of care. Diagnostic equipment, basic laboratory tests, technical and auxiliary services are always available.

SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

• Medical Degree and current professional registration on the medical register of your Country of residence;
• Specialisation in General Surgery with at least 5 years’ relevant professional experience as first surgeon;
• Hospital experience in Emergency and/or Trauma surgery departments.
• good working knowledge of the English language (at least B2, Europass);
• Professional experience in an international humanitarian context or low-income countries is an asset
• Strongly motivated by humanitarian work;
• Good organisational skills, capacity to manage competing workload and work within a team;
• Able to capacity build and supervise local surgical staff.

In order to proceed with the selection process, the following documentation must be produced in addition to the CV:

– surgical case history signed by the Hospital Health Management or Institute where you work, from the beginning of your career to the current date
– certificates of hospital positions held since the beginning of your career, related to clinical and non-academic activity

REQUIRED AVAILABILITY

6 months overseas stay including a period of leave to be taken at the end of the mission in agreement with the coordinator.

How to apply

Please, send your CV to [email protected]