Partners focused on exploring opportunities to maintain and build capacity at the Turkish Hospital in Saida, building on lessons from the UK-EMT deployment. The workshop was attended by British Chargé D’Affaires and Development Director, Victoria Dunne; UK-Med Team Lead, Mr. Andres Gonzales Rodriguez; Turkish Hospital Director, Mrs Mona Teryaki; and Senior Advisor to the Minister of Public Health, Dr Nadeen Hilal.
In November 2024, the UK-EMT arrived in Lebanon to attend to injured civilians caught up in the conflict and train Lebanese health workers in specialised burn treatment skills. The team, made up of medical staff from the NGO UK-Med and Interburns, had deployed in response to a call for assistance from the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health to the international community. The deployment of medical professionals from the UK to emergencies and humanitarian crises around the world is funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
The UK-EMT shared their achievements and challenges in providing burns and trauma services at the Turkish hospital and suggested steps to ensure continuity of burns treatment and physiotherapy. The event highlighted how international NGOs like UK-Med can provide life-saving assistance in a crisis context while also improving Lebanon’s capacity to provide these specialised services in the longer term.
Charge D’Affaires and Development Director Victoria Dunne said:
The conflict in Lebanon brought intolerable suffering to so many, with homes destroyed and innocent civilians caught up in the crossfire. The UK is pleased to have been able to deploy such valuable expertise to assist Lebanon in a time of crisis.
Over the past 5 months, the UK medical team have managed to deliver urgently needed treatment to the most vulnerable and those with life-changing injuries, whilst imparting skills to Lebanese physiotherapist to use in the long-term. We hope today’s workshop sets out a road map to sustain the Turkish Hospital in Saida and its burns rehabilitation expertise with the support of our local and international partners.
We are proud of our ongoing partnership and cooperation with Lebanon and international partners and what we have achieved in the last year – mobilising over $50m for the most vulnerable across the country.
UK-Med Senior Operations Manager and Team Lead for the UK EMT in Lebanon, Andres Gonzalez Rodriguez said:
Since November 2024, UK-EMT has provided specialised physiotherapy care focussed on burn rehabilitation in partnership with Interburns in the Turkish Trauma and Emergency Hospital, Saida. Several training sessions for physiotherapists were held with the Lebanese Order of Physiotherapists and Interburns for staff, including improving protocols and securing vital equipment.
As our mission ends, UK-EMT remains committed to supporting sustainable medical capacity in Lebanon through knowledge transfer and strengthened local healthcare system.
Senior Advisor to the Minister of Public Health Dr Nadeen Hilal said:
The Turkish Hospital’s journey may be considered as a blueprint. Its evolution from an emergency recipient to a hub of localized expertise and burn standard of excellence demonstrates how targeted interventions can respond to national health priorities. The lessons learned here, in burns care, trauma management, and multidisciplinary collaboration, must inspire replication across Lebanon’s hospitals, addressing diverse needs such as maternal health and chronic disease management.
