Australia hosted the 45th International Committee of Military Medicine World Congress recently, the first time this event has been held in the southern hemisphere.
Captain Ian Young AM, Deputy Director of Surgery at Peninsula Health and President of the Australasian Military Medicine Association was part of the organising committee for the event.
There were 1400 delegates with 52 member countries in the General Assembly and around 70 countries represented at the conference.
“The conference is an opportunity to come together for collaboration and to identify what we all can do to improve the care of the injured – that can be injured in war zones or in providing humanitarian assistance because militaries get involved with that as well,” explains Captain Young.
“So we come together to share concepts, ideologies and treatment options for all of us to improve.”
The Opening Plenary was a presentation by Major General Timothy Hodgetts, Chair, Committee of Chiefs, Military Medical Services, NATO on Common military medicine challenges in an increasingly unstable world. The keynote presentation was given by Junior Sergeant Igor Ivashchenko, Deputy Chief of the Medical Service of the International Legion (Armed Forces of Ukraine) on Adapting Military Medicine in the Age of Drone Warfare: Lessons from the Ukrainian Frontline.
“We take the politics out of it and take the current world view,” explains Captain Young.
“We know that the world is in a bit of an unstable place, but when things happen, how do we care for our injured and how do we care for enemy combatants as well? We can come together to discuss how we go about tackling the same challenges and learn from what others have done.”
“We can also collaborate on research and get involved with other countries and how they do things,” adds Captain Young.
Peninsula Health Head of Palliative Care and Director of Medical Services, Lieutenant Colonel Dr Sandeep Bhagat commended Captain Young for his immense work organising the successful international event.
“It is great to see Peninsula Health clinical leaders leading at an International stage,” says Dr Bhagat.
“Captain Young AM, thank you Sir for your inspirational work.”