Inverness surgeon Andy Kent sees a change in war zone an increase in missile attacks since his return to Ukraine

An Inverness trauma surgeon has noticed an increase in missile attacks since his return to Ukraine.

Andy Kent set off from the Highlands for the war-torn country at the beginning of last month and is now set to return home after a six-week stay there.

Currently based in the Dnipro region he says he has noticed there are fewer gunshot wounds than were having to be dealt with on previous visits as the type of fighting has changed.

The 58-year-old, who is normally based at Raigmore Hospital as a consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon, is in Ukraine as a volunteer with frontline aid charity UK-Med.

He said that as well as an increase in missile strikes, from closer than before, air raid sirens are also active most nights.

Nevertheless he added: “Yet the city seems much more alive, with many people having returned to their homes. Every day I see new shops and cafés reopening.

“The mechanisms of injury have changed very little although there seems to be more military casualties with blast type trauma – shrapnel wounds, amputations and closed head trauma – and fewer gun shot wounds.

“This reflects the change in the fighting – it is mainly tank and artillery fire now.

“UK-Med’s forward operational base is here in the Dnipro region although we have outreach teams delivering training and primary care clinics across Ukraine.

“Personally, I’ve been mostly based here but have travelled north to Sumi, east to Kharkiv and south to Zaproizhzhya for assessments and training.”

Mr Kent has a number of different roles while he is in Ukraine.

He recently travelled to Zaproizhzhya to deliver paediatric trauma training and make arrangements to distribute much-needed trauma equipment.

“Surgically, I provide advice and hands-on training,” he said.

“I was operating recently with a local surgeon to manage a complex, high velocity gunshot wound to an elbow.

“I’m also helping deliver advanced first aid training to civilian first responders – we do not directly train any military medics as we are a humanitarian agency – this includes chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) training.

“I also advise on procurement and distribution of medical equipment ranging from dressings and tourniquets to in-theatre X-ray equipment.”

In addition, he said, he was helping to coordinate the setting up of the charity’s field surgical unit and populating it with a suitably qualified surgical team.

He added: “Most of our first surgical team have been recruited from amongst my colleagues at Raigmore Hospital who are using their personal and study leave to volunteer.”

When he first visited Ukraine earlier this year it was mid-winter and the war was “very fluid”. He said: “The atmosphere, like the weather, was cold and grey.

“However, on returning only one month later, it was dramatically different – warm, very green and lots of flowers in bloom.”

He added the war was a “long, long way from being over” and it was important that people in the UK did not forget the suffering in Ukraine – both immediately and in the longer-term.

• Visit UK-Med.

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.