Page 51 - QARANC Vol 14 No 13 2016

A Personal Account of Op GRITROCK
After a month of endless MATTS at Chilwell and excellent mission specific training at Strensall I deployed on Op Gritrock landing in theatre on 20 December 2014.
I expected to be deployed in an Ops/Watchkeeping capacity based at either ISAT or the Kerry Town EVDTU. After a three hour airport wait and a five hour coach trip in 40 degree heat I found out I was mistaken. My kit was put on to a Land Rover and I was off on another four hour trip to the Bombali district to work as COS of the Makeni District Ebola Response Centre. My team was to be three Royal Marines and nine soldiers from 1 Scot Reg. As a senior nurse on a first deployment to say I felt ‘out of my comfort zone’ would be a massive understatement.
Luckily for me the Makeni DERC was well established and doing a good job delivering its ‘five pillars of response – Alerts, Surveillance, Case Management, Burials and Social Mobilisation/Psych Social. The range and weight of responsibility was daunting, but it quickly became obvious that this work was key in the fight to control the spread of Ebola. After a short handover from the outgoing COS I was given the reigns just before Christmas Day, our one and only day off.
All five pillars of the DERC’s work were very important, but the burials teams were, for me, the unsung heroes of the entire mission. At the height of the epidemic the teams were burying over fifty corpses a day within 24 hours of death in the safest and most dignified way possible, given the uniquely difficult circumstances. My job, with the RMs, was to ensure the teams followed strict SOPs, some of which were in direct conflict with the cultural and religious beliefs of the local population. To my mind this work did more to reduce the spread of infection than any other intervention. When I first arrived at Makeni, corpses could be found on the street every day, some people purposefully dying in places they knew their bodies would be picked up by us and buried with dignity. For two 19 year old RMs in my team this was a sobering and testing experience and some rapid growing up was required.
It became clear to the chain of command that the border between Sierra Leone and Guinea was porous and contributing to the spread of infection. After my concept of operation was cleared at ISAT we set off on a two day 4x4 recce trip through the jungle to assess the extent of the problem. The journey itself was an adventure with no real roads to speak of and very limited maps. Our stopping off points were isolated villages where most of the local children had not seen white people before. We became familiar with the phrase ‘apotto apotto’ ‘white man, white man’. The RMs were in their element and it was not long before the village kids were doing drill and press ups to the delight and astonishment of their elders.
During the recce my diplomatic skills were tested to the full when offered a bush meat supper by a village chief. After managing to evade the chimp sandwich with the return gift of a 12 man ration pack I was then offered the ‘company’ of one of the chiefs’ wives, a young girl looking no older than twelve. Photos of my wife and children were required to enable me to decline this kind offer, but not so the bride who was deeply offended and upset by my rebuff.
After two months at the DERC I was relieved by a RM officer and transferred to the EVDTU at Kerry Town to work in the Ops room as a watch keeper. This was a very different experience, but interesting and challenging nonetheless. It was a privilege to witness the skill, compassion and
professionalism of our clinical and support staff working in this difficult and dangerous environment.
The twenty bedded unit was never full to capacity but the effort involved in caring for the unfortunate people who were admitted was immense. Watching the nurses do their work in 40 degree heat, in full PPE, with poor air conditioning, was something I will never forget. The skill required to calm and reassure a distressed patient in the final stages of this terrible disease, whilst looking like something from a science fiction movie, cannot be overestimated. This work was far removed from standard NHS work and it served as a real reminder to many of us of the reason we choose to do what we do in the first place.
Being involved in the dramatic events on and after the day a British Army QA tested positive for Ebola was both harrowing and reassuring in equal measures. Harrowing because of the reality hitting home that we were all at risk despite our fine training and attention to detail, and reassuring to see how quickly and effectively this situation was managed through to a very happy outcome. Being one of the nineteen or so people who had to be closely monitored for 21 days following this event focused the mind considerably. Fortunately my NHS Trust had provided me with the facility of phone support from my line manager and infection control department; this proved invaluable and helped me count the days down without feeling the need to worry my family unduly.
I returned home at the end of April 15 and, after a day of token decompression, had the longest period of leave in my working life. Going back to the day job was not as easy as anticipated; most of what I deal with on a day-to-day basis felt insignificant and my colleagues’ worries and concerns seemed petty and irrelevant, however, these feelings pass.
I am immensely proud and grateful that I could contribute to Op Gritrock and help the people of Sierra Leone get their country back from the grip of this terrible disease. I am also proud to have represented 243 (The WESSEX) FD Hospital and to have served with the best at their best.
Maj Leigh Skelton, QARANC 243(The Wessex) FD Hosp July 2016
THE GAZETTE QARANC 49
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