Canadian team of volunteers treating exhausted and dehydrated refugees at the Ukrainian–Polish border.
Dr. Anthony Fong, a clinical assistant professor at UBC Department of Emergency Medicine, is a clinical lead and emergency physician for the Canadian Medical Assistance Team (CMAT) volunteering at a medical field clinic in Ukraine.
CMAT is a Canadian-based grassroots disaster relief organization made up of volunteer health professionals and non-health volunteers. Tucked into a corner next to a soup kitchen near the Polish border, the diverse team of nurses, doctors, emergency medicine physicians, pediatric ER nurses, a nurse practitioner and team psychologist are seeing exhausted refugees with heartbreaking stories, some travelling days and over 1000 kilometers reach the border.
Watch CBC’s The National: What it’s like at a Canadian field clinic in Ukraine
“Peoples lives are turned upside-down. They have to pickup the pieces of their lives and start anew in a new place,” say Dr. Fong.
The medical team is providing primary care typically done by a family physician and urgent care to patients with chronic conditions, such as hypertension and diabetes, along with cough and colds, headaches, and anxiety.
Dr. Fong also acted as a medical lead on a disaster relief mission during hurricanes Eta and Iota in Honduras. It was his third time in Honduras as a medical volunteer.
Watch the Forum Daily interview with Dr. Anthony Fong from Ukraine
