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Medical Provision (Gulf)

Answer

Medical support to any deployed operation is absolutely vital, and British forces in the Gulf have access to a wide range of high quality medical care, the majority of which is provided by UK Defence Medical Services.Specifically, there are three levels of Medical Treatment Facility (MTF) available to the British forces in the Gulf. These are:Role 1—Primary health care, specialised first aid, triage, resuscitation and stabilisation.In addition to the organic role 1 facilities within the deployed elements, there is also a facility at Basra air station with additional strategic, tactical and immediate response teams components deployed.Health care providers also give basic occupational medicine and preventative medical advice including:"primary dental care;""basic laboratory testing;""initial stress management."Role 2—Reception and triage of casualties, and resuscitation and treatment of shock to a higher level than role 1 MTFs.May include damage control surgery and a short term holding facility for casualties until they can be returned to duty or evacuated. Can be enhanced to include primary surgery (PS), intensive care unit (ICU), and medium and low dependency nursing care beds (MLDs). May also cover:"preventative medicine; operational stress management, psychiatry or psychology;""diagnostic imaging and tele-medicine;""patient evacuation co-ordination;""GeneralMedicine;""Genito-urinary medicine."There are role 2 facilities at Al Amarah and Al Muthanna; the latter has Australian medical personnel supporting UK personnel.Role 3—Deployed hospitalisation and associated support elements including PS, ICU, MLDs, diagnostic support and mission tailored clinical specialities for emergency medical care.The holding capacity allows for beds for the sick and injured, diagnosis and treatment of patients who may return to duty within the Joint Operations Area (JOA), within the constraints of the Theatre Holding Policy. Role 3 facilities reinforce those of roles 2 and control or give ready-access to Medical Evacuation (MEDEVAC) assets. These may include:"Specialist surgery (neuro-surgery, maxillo-facial, burns);""Advanced and specialist diagnostic capabilities to support clinical specialists (CT scan, arthroscopy, sophisticated laboratory tests);""Major medical, nursing specialities (internal medicine, neurology, intensive care, ophthalmology);""Primary dental care."The MOD has a role 3 field hospital at Shaibah logistics base, which is currently supported by a Czech surgical team. This has the additional capability of a theatre dental team, a mental health team, two aeromedical evacuation liaison officers (AELO), and a detachment of 84 Medical Supply Squadron.Other deployed facilities include:"Environmental health technicians, deployed throughout the area of responsibility;""AELO/primary health care nurse based in Baghdad;""Medical admin primary health care/aeromed evacuation co-ord in Muharraq and Seeb;""Primary health care nurse/AELO in Al Udeid."Other troop contributing nations provide facilities which, if necessary, our troops can access. Similarly, other nations can access our facilities.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

37265; 440 c2344-5W

Session

2005-06

Subjects

Armed forces Health services Iraq Medical treatments Peacekeeping operations

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk