Page 53 - RADC Bulletin 2018

OVERSEAS ASSIGNMENTS
Exercise Askari Serpent 18
02 April - 20 May 2018
Capt Emily Summers RADC
The trawl for Ex Askari Serpent 18 came to me in Cyprus in January 2018. Excited at the prospect of going on my first exercise since commissioning in 2015, I jumped at the opportunity. We deployed with 2 Medical Regiment, which were based at North Luffenham, and met up with the other members of the dental team at the Mission Rehearsal Exercise (MRX) in March. Along with myself, the complete team comprised: Maj Rob Smith (SDO), Capt Craig Parry, Cpl Gemma Johnson, LCpl Laura Hird, LCpl Charlotte London, LCpl Melissa Naulls, and LCpl Jemma Rose. There was a wide range
of experience within the team, with some who had been on Ex ASKARI SERPENT before, to myself who hadn’t been on any exercises at all.
April came around very quickly and the Cyprus contingent (myself and LCpl Rose) made our way to North Luffenham again to join the rest of 2 Medical Regiment for the long journey to
to a Med Tp. There were three RATTs: A, B, and C. After eight days at LAB(E) everyone was ready to get out and start treating patients. Each RATT was mobilised in a nine vehicle convoy. Myself, LCpl Rose and LCpl Naulls joined RATT A, and began the journey to the towns of Kinna and Kula Mawe within Isiolo County. Our first journey took over 36 hours, as recent heavy rains had washed away many of the roads along the way.
After spending the first night sleeping in
the vehicles on the side of a road, we were glad to reach the maternity hospital at Kinna where we set up our first clinic.
Queries from dental patients ranged from aesthetic concerns about buccally displaced canines, to large facial swellings of unknown origin. However, predominantly the problems we faced were gross decay and advanced periodontal disease. Extractions were the order of the day, and the dental teams were never without a queue of willing patients. Major Smith and LCpl Hird joined
LAB(E), Kenya. The first week in theatre was spent sorting
and organising the
kit that the SDO
had requested. Unfortunately, MDSS encountered problems when attempting
Predominantly the problems we faced were gross decay and advanced periodontal disease
us in phase two of the exercise at Sere Olipi and Wamba, within Samburu County. Here we set up a two- chair dental centre within empty school classrooms, which
we were given access to during the school holidays. With the use of a tarpaulin sheet
compassionate members of the villages, mostly on their holidays from university and with big dreams about improving the lives of their families at home. I met a man who looked after his 150 goats and 20 cattle, was studying project management in Nairobi, and regularly worked with local tribes and populations on education for healthcare and social behaviours - very impressive. He always turned up in a pressed shirt and polished shoes.
As the exercise went on, my clinical confidence developed, and now back in Cyprus I feel much better equipped to make a judgement on the oral surgery scenarios I face. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of the exercise, and particularly valued working with an experienced team of dental nurses. I would recommend the exercise to everyone seeking to challenge and develop their clinical and field operating skills.
to calibrate the
Eschmann SES
3000B sterilisers, due to the air pressure
at LAB(E) being at the lower end of the operating limits for the sterilisers. As a
result, only two of the three SES 3000B sterilisers could be calibrated, which limited the number of dental teams that could independently operate to two. As a work around, MDSS attempted to resurrect an old SES 2000 steriliser which was in storage at LAB(E), but this was unsuccessful.
we were able to divide a large classroom into three areas: 2 surgeries and a central sterilisation area. This set up enabled us to separate clean and dirty areas, and removed unnecessary items from the surgery area. During our time in Wamba we underwent a CAF inspection by 1 UK Div where we got
a ‘green’. We also received a visit from the Army Combat Camera Team.
Our ability to provide dental care was hugely dependent on the availability of local translators. My team and I were lucky enough to meet some very intellectual and
Deployed medical and dental teams were collectively referred to as Remote Area Training Teams (RATTs), roughly equivalent
RADC BULLETIN 2018 51