Thirty-two Iraqi Surgeons, Medical Oncologists and Senior Nurses travelled to the King Hussein Cancer Center in Amman, Jordan at the beginning of June to participate in a Seminar on Cancer Management.
The Iraqi Doctors and Senior Nurses travelled in convoy from all parts of Iraq, under the auspices of British Council to Jordan, where they spent 5 days learning new techniques in head and neck cancer management. The Seminar was organised by Brian Conroy a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Surrey’s Bio-Medical Engineering Centre. Brian is the Honorary Secretary of the Norman Rowe Educational Trust, a Foundation that is committed to providing humanitarian aid to those in need.
“The Iraqi doctors were very reserved at first, but they did open up during the question period. It soon became apparent the facilities and working conditions in Iraq, are very poor, compared to the UK. The medical and surgical skills, of those attending from Iraq, proved to be very high, but they lack up-to-date information of the modern advances, in the management of cancer, and there is a lack of technological support” said Brian Conroy.
“Clinical resources, such as Chemotherapy Drugs, Radiation and Diagnostic Facilities, are in very short supply, often influencing the level of treatment that can be provided. Apparently, there is also a grave shortage of Clinical and Scientific Text Books and Journals, throughout the Country.”
“We hope that our recent activity aimed at helping colleagues in Iraq, will stir the imagination of other UK Medical and Surgical Professionals, to provide similar courses in other clinical fields, benefit the retraining of Iraqi Medical Staff, to help them in their future rebuilding of Clinical Services.”