Page 25 - QARANC Vol 18 No 2 2020

The Gazette QARANC Association 23
British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) Deployment
BATUK is a permanent training establishment that supports and delivers demanding training exercises to light role Infantry Battalions. BATUK serves to prepare the Infantry to deploy on future operations and assume high readiness.
I was deployed out to BATUK earlier this year in February to take on the role of one of the primary health care nurses based in Nyati Barracks in Nanyuki. We have a small medical team here, and I am one of two Primary Health Care (PHC) nurses, supported by the Senior Medical Officer and one locum civilian GP. My main role out here is to care for all the service personnel who support BATUK and deliver the training, also caring for around 80 families who have accompanied them. Some components of my job role include the treatment of acute illness and minor injuries, managing travel clinics, providing sexual health screenings and family planning and supporting the out of hours on-call service.
The on-call duty medic manages emergencies out of hours which can range from anything such as paediatric illness to severe injuries sustained out on the training area that need medical evacuation
Corporal Isobel Draper with one of the local school children
(MEDEVAC) to the role 3 hospital based in Nairobi. Responsibilities include liaising with the duty doctor, treating and stabilising the patient, discussing the casualty with Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT) and organising MEDEVAC via helicopter to Nairobi, also producing a 9-liner and MISTAT (mechanism/injuries/ signs/treatment/age/time) report that can be cascaded up the chain of command.
Whilst I have been deployed in Kenya, I have been very fortunate to participate in several community engagements within our local area. One of the main projects I have been involved in, centred around teaching women from the local Masai tribes the fundamentals about women’s health and family planning. We first trialled the use of menstrual cups for these ladies, however their lack of knowledge and understanding of female anatomy hindered this idea. We therefore simplified our aim and concentrated on sanitary towels. We invited the female elders of the tribe to a teaching session on how to create their own reusable sanitary towels by using pieces of cloth and fabric. The session was very successful, and we hope the elders will pass this knowledge down through the generations, therefore provide great benefit to ladies who otherwise have little or no access to female sanitary products.
My role since being out in Kenya has subsequently changed due to the recent Covid-19 pandemic. BATUK has made the decision to stop all training and as a result of this, evacuated all service personnel and families back to the UK due to the lack of medical resources available out here in Kenya. Also due to the unprecedented and sudden impact on the economy following Covid-19, security within Kenya has also become a major issue due to many people being made
Corporal Isobel Draper giving advice to one of the elders
redundant through collapse of businesses. A small BATUK work force has been left behind to secure and support the barracks and I therefore have been tasked to stay to provide nursing care due to my background in ED. A lot of my new role now is to deliver training. Training not only surrounding Covid-19 related illnesses, but also to provide trauma-based scenarios to our Force Protection Infantry platoon as BATUK has now commenced onto operational footing, thus, preparing for any eventuality if it were to arise and ensuring our MEDEVAC contingency plans are sound.
I have enjoyed myself so far out in Kenya and I have even managed to indulge in some game drives and even a horse back safari. However, like the UK, lockdown has impacted greatly on those experiences you can have out in this amazing country. I hope to explore more of Kenya once lockdown has been lifted and before my tour ends.
Corporal Isobel Draper