Medical officer to use fellowship to improve trauma skills

An Australian Army Reserve anaesthetist has been awarded a Churchill Fellowship for his civilian role as a trauma specialist at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne.

CAPTION: Lieutenant Colonel Simon Hendel, an anaesthetist and reservist from the 3rd Health Battalion in Adelaide, has been awarded a Churchill Fellowship for his civilian role as a trauma specialist at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne. Story by Captain Andrew Page. Photo by Michelle McFarlane.

Lieutenant Colonel Simon Hendel, from Adelaide’s 3rd Health Battalion, will use the travelling fellowship to investigate a range of options for tactical emergency medicine systems that could be used in the Australian Defence Force and emergency services to help better prepare for major trauma incidents.

Lieutenant Colonel Hendel said the fellowship would involve training with and learning from specialist emergency services units in Europe, the UK and the US.

“The Churchill Fellowship is an overseas travelling fellowship that enables Australians to basically design their own projects to explore international best practice capabilities overseas, which are either not yet mature, or being developed in Australia,” Lieutenant Colonel Hendel said.

“The idea is that fellows go overseas, learn from our overseas partners and apply those lessons back here in Australia.

“It’s administered by the Churchill Trust, which was set up when the former prime minister of England, Winston Churchill, died.”

Lieutenant Colonel Hendel said his work under the fellowship would build upon his civilian employment as a trauma consultant at the Alfred Hospital and medical adviser to the Victorian ambulance and police services.

“A lot of lessons have been learned on deployments by empowering non-medical personnel with advanced first aid trauma skills, which enables them to provide lifesaving treatment to a patient with severe trauma,” he said.

“Basically we want to learn from our partner law enforcement agencies overseas, and quite often they’ve had to learn how to deal with trauma the hard way.

“Victoria and the rest of Australia are still in the early stages of developing civilian emergency medical support to major violent incidents, or tactical emergency medical systems.

“The law enforcement agencies I plan to visit overseas have developed quite mature systems and in many circumstances have had those systems tested in the real world.

“I’m trying to learn these lessons so that I can provide some trauma and medical expertise to specialised police and other emergency services personnel,” Lieutenant Colonel Hendel said.

“This is about ensuring trauma patients have the best possible chance of survival.”

More than 4000 Australians have received a Churchill Fellowship over the past six decades.

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