Page 54 - RSDG Year of 2021 CREST

52 EAGLE AND CARBINE
UNIT AID POST (UAP)
Major A Christie RAMC
The UAP continued to share in the ongoing COVID 19 challenges during 2021, however, it has afforded our medics unique opportunities to practice in envi- ronments they otherwise might not experience or in conditions they might not expect.
Along with the rest of the Unit, 2021 started with the UAP continuing to support Op RESCRIPT. Along with over 100 RAMC personnel, Cpl Hughes and LCpl Thom deployed to Northern Ireland as part of Project Baird to provide clinical aid to the Northern Ireland Health Service in Belfast. The mission was to assist nurses and health care workers on COVID wards in order to alleviate the increasing pressure on NHS per- sonnel. Cpl Hughes and LCpl Thom were assigned to Belfast City Hospital, working in a COVID support ward. Duties were largely around supporting the nurs- ing staff, delivering clinical care directly to COVID patients. Despite the challenging working conditions and clinical outcomes for many patients, both CMTs thoroughly enjoyed their experience, which enabled them to learn and put into practice some of the skills they would expect to deliver as part of Prolonged Field Care in a deployed setting. At the same time, LCpl Cartledge, newly arrived to the UAP from 5 Medical Regiment, quickly deployed along with Cpl Hill to support vaccination delivery in Edinburgh.
With CMTs widely dispersed across the UK, the UAP welcomed the arrival of our new Nursing Sergeant, Sgt Whitehouse from MRS Dhekelia in Cyprus. She had barley arrived into the wintery weather before the Regimental Medical Officer, Major Christie was trawled to deploy on Op NEWCOMBE supporting the Light Dragoon Battlegroup as the Long Range Reconnaissance Group (LRRG) element of the UN
MINUMSA stabilisation operation in Mali. This chal- lenging theatre entry operation saw the establishment of the taskgroup in Gao in eastern Mali, moving to full operating capability during the tour to enable recon- naissance support to the UN. As the LRRG Senior Medical Officer, Maj Christie led the Role 1 element of the medical support to the LRRG in the extremely challenging climate where daytime temperatures topped out at nearly 50 degrees C. The Role 1 team established firm base medical care as well enabling deployed medical support to the task group operating at many hundreds of kilometres from the firm base. With a small team of CMTs, paramedics and nurses, the Role 1 team had a successful tour, managing to operate within the COVID-19 constraints and estab- lishing the conditions for subsequent task groups to deliver reconnaissance support to the UN.
Whilst the RMO was deployed, the UAP prepared to deploy on Ex WESSEX STORM, delivering both Real Life Support medical care as well as exercising as part of the medical chain. Under Capt Clancy, the General Duties Medical Officer and Sgt Moloney, the Medical Sergeant, the UAP led the Battlegroup real life medi- cal support, a task made all the more challenging by the ever present threat of a COVID outbreak in the austere conditions of STANTA and SPTA. The UAP proved their steel by single handily defeating the enemy forces, without a shot fired, by isolating many of them in Knook camp with suspected and confirmed COVID-19 infections. With the forthcoming prepa- ration to enable personnel to be held at Very High Readiness to support the potential hurricane response in the Caribbean, as well as the unit’s deployment on Ex KHANJAR OMAN, Sgt Whitehouse and Capt Clancy, successfully provided a COVID vaccination clinic despite being in a deployed environment, this ensured the regiment did not fall behind the pre- scribed vaccination schedule.
On return from WESSEX STORM, the UAP was joined by a new CMT, Cpl Ferrier, also from Cyprus, and was straight back into the full swing of medi- cal force preparation for both Op VENTUS and Ex KHANJAR OMAN, with Sgt Whitehouse and all the CMTs rolling their sleeves up to deliver a plethora of vaccinations into the arms of unit personnel to ena- ble them to safely deploy. The UAP also found time to support the SCOTS DG 50 activity with the RMO,