Operational resilience isn’t built during a crisis. It’s built long before one arrives.
For the past four years, the World Extreme Medicine Fund (WEMF) has worked alongside healthcare professionals, emergency responders, humanitarian organisations and international partners across Ukraine, delivering humanitarian aid, developing frontline medical capability and providing trauma training in some of the most challenging operational environments imaginable.
This September, those experiences will form the basis of a keynote session at The Emergency Services Show 2026, one of the UK’s leading events for emergency services professionals.
On Thursday 17th September, Professor Mark Hannaford, Founder and CEO of World Extreme Medicine and Co-Founder of the World Extreme Medicine Fund, will be joined by Luca Alfatti, Co-Founder of the World Extreme Medicine Fund and Global Medical & Humanitarian Leader, and Richard Lewis, Chief Operating Officer of World Extreme Medicine, to present:
What Ukraine’s Adaptation Can Teach UK Emergency Services About Organisational Readiness
Taking place within the Resilience360 theatre, the session will explore what organisations can learn from four years of sustained humanitarian operations and how those lessons can strengthen preparedness before the next major incident occurs.
Rather than simply reflecting on experiences from the frontline, the discussion will focus on the practical realities of organisational resilience.
Topics will include:
- Building adaptability within emergency service organisations.
- Strengthening interoperability across agencies and sectors.
- Developing leadership capable of operating under prolonged pressure.
- Creating resilient systems that continue to perform during complex and evolving incidents.
- Turning operational experience into long-term organisational capability.
Ukraine has become one of the world’s most important learning environments for emergency medicine, leadership and organisational resilience. The pace of adaptation required throughout the conflict has demonstrated that preparedness extends far beyond equipment and procedures. It depends on people, leadership, culture and the ability to learn continuously.
Drawing on WEMF’s humanitarian work and collaboration with NATO and international partners, the session will examine how these real-world experiences can inform the future of emergency service preparedness across the UK.
As emergency services face increasingly complex operational challenges, from major incidents and humanitarian crises to evolving threats and resource pressures, the ability to build resilience before it is needed has never been more important.
Delegates attending the session can expect practical insights, fresh perspectives and tangible actions that can help strengthen organisational readiness long before the next crisis unfolds.
Join Us at ESS 2026
The Emergency Services Show takes place on 16–17 September 2026 at the NEC Birmingham, bringing together more than 16,000 professionals from across the police, fire and rescue, ambulance, search and rescue, voluntary sector and wider resilience community.
The WEM Fund’s session will take place on:
What Ukraine’s Adaptation Can Teach UK Emergency Services About Organisational Readiness
Thursday 17th September 2026
12:30–13:15
Resilience360 Theatre
If you’re attending The Emergency Services Show, we’d love to see you there and continue the conversation around organisational resilience, preparedness and learning from real-world operations.
You can find out more about The Emergency Services Show and register to attend via the official event website.
How You Can Help
WEMF operates as a restricted fund under Humanitas (UK Registered Charity Number 1114639), Gift Aid claims are managed by Humanitas.