The Gibraltar Health Authority is delighted to announce that it has been granted approval to become a Centre for delivery of the European Trauma Course and will be hosting its first Course at the Sunborn Hotel commencing 14th April 2025. The training programme, made possible by a generous donation from the Kusuma Trust, will equip local healthcare professionals with the skills and knowledge to provide high quality, evidence based care for major trauma patients.

The European Trauma Course is unique because it trains doctors, nurses and paramedics side-by-side, working in multi-specialty teams mirroring real-life trauma scenarios. It is also the only internationally accredited trauma course certified by several global medical entities such as the European Society for Trauma and Emergency Surgery and the European Society for Emergency Medicine.

The course will run over three days with a faculty of experienced, multidisciplinary instructors working within trauma care across Europe. The course is delivered using a range of teaching modalities focused on producing highly functioning trauma teams. As well as lectures and skills workshops, the candidates will work through 30 increasingly complex trauma scenarios as both team members and team leads. Candidates are continuously assessed over the course on their ability to work within a trauma team, lead a trauma and be competent in practical trauma skills, with a summative team lead assessment on the final day. The course emphasises the importance of team working, non-technical skills and human factors in producing highly functioning trauma teams.

An extensive amount of preparatory work was carried out by Charge Nurse Sarah Smith to obtain the approval for the Gibraltar Health Authority to become a centre to deliver the course. Work then began in earnest by Charge Nurse Smith and Resuscitation Officer Michelle Gracia, to meet the conditions set by ETC to enable the GHA to deliver its first course.

Following this, both nurses successfully completed the course and were selected by the faculty to join the ETC family as instructor candidates. They are now on course to become fully recognised instructors and join Andrey Valkov, Emergency Medicine Physician, who recently qualified as Gibraltar’s first ETC instructor, to form the core faculty for future European Trauma Courses in Gibraltar.

Becoming a course centre for the European Trauma Course will have a significant and positive impact on GHA staff and service users, providing the opportunity for advanced, evidence-based trauma training and confidence in handling complex trauma cases.

Michelle Tosso, Country Manager, Kusuma Trust Gibraltar said: "At Kusuma Trust we recognise the importance of investing in professional development, particularly in healthcare, where continuous learning and skill development ensure that healthcare providers stay up to date with the latest medical research, technologies, and best practices. This directly translates into higher-quality patient care and improved patient outcomes. Hence, we are delighted to continue our long-standing support for the Gibraltar Health Authority by funding a three-day European Trauma Course which will be delivered locally. We are very grateful to Sandie Gracia and everyone involved for their hard work and initiative in bringing the ETC to Gibraltar. By establishing the GHA as an internationally accredited training centre, the course will be more accessible to local health care professionals in future, benefitting trauma patients for years to come."

Director of Nursing, Sandie Gracia, said: “Upgrading training and skills for front line health workers is beneficial to the service provided by the GHA, and the trauma course is a perfect example of collaboration with external organisations in a shared objective. Course instructors will evaluate our response to a simulated major emergency providing us with a valuable learning opportunity to be more effective in real life catastrophes.”  

GHA Director General Kevin McGee said: “We are very excited to be hosting the first European Trauma Course for health professionals in Gibraltar. I must thank Director of Nursing, Sandie Gracia for her great efforts in securing the Kusuma Trust donation. It is a magnificent initiative as ultimately the aim of this training is to save lives, reach higher standards of trauma-informed care and improve patient outcomes. At the same time it will foster professional development, boosting morale and job satisfaction all round.”

For her part, the Minister for Health and Care, the Hon Gemma Arias-Vasquez, said: “I am delighted that we are bringing the European Trauma Course to Gibraltar. I am very thankful for the work done by the GHA to make this happen, and very grateful to the Kusuma Trust for their continued support and very generous donation. This is about saving lives, improving patient outcomes and ensuring our frontline staff have the tools they need to do their job with confidence.”