Page 27 - QARANC Vol 14 No 12 2016

THE GAZETTE QARANC 25
place by a strap across the forehead, laden full of wood, fodder for animals or large stones from the river for building houses. The occasional older male would amble through a little worse the wear having had too much raksi – the local home brew. Shy school children would curiously walk through in their flip flops on their way to school, some having walked down from the hills for over an hour every day to attend. As the village began to get used to our presence people would stop to talk to us. However it was evident that they were not used to Westerners in this part of Nepal, as the women would chatter away to me as if having no thought that I would not be able to understand them! Unfortunately my Nepali had not progressed very far and my reply was often limited to a cheerful “Namaste” or “Mero nam Lynda ho”! Nepali is the official language of Nepal; however every caste also has its own distinct dialect. Pachok is an area mostly inhabited by Gurung’s and it was fascinating to discover that the non-Gurungs amongst us such as the Limbu’s or Rai’s could not understand the local dialect either.
Both in Jiri and Pachok we were warmly welcomed and included in all celebrations and religious festivals being held in the local communities. This included very grand official opening ceremonies for all the buildings constructed by the Gurkhas, where we were all presented with numerous ‘mala’ or flower garlands by the community to show their gratitude. We also celebrated ‘Tihar’ or the ‘Festival of Lights’ a five day Hindu celebration that saw everywhere illuminated at night with lights and candles. Tihar is considered to be of great importance as it shows reverence to each other
and the Gods as well as animals such as dogs, cows and crows. The second day is Kukur (dog) Tihar where the cherished relationship between dogs and humans is acknowledged and the animals are adorned with flower garlands and blessed with ‘tika’, a red dye placed on their forehead. Every celebration involved plenty of food, music, singing and dancing around a fire at night.
My role as an MNP on Op MARMAT required me to help write the medical plan and ensure evacuation procedures were in place, liaise with HN medical facilities and provide medical advice and briefs to the Troop. I also had to decide what medical equipment to take and how much in case the G4 supply chain could not be relied upon. Prevention of disease and injury was always a priority as well as being aware of the Troops general health and ensuring patients presented early for treatment with any concerning ailments or injuries. At the time of writing this article, the majority of my work has all been Primary Health Care however you must always be available or ready to respond to a medical incident 24/7. Perhaps the most fundamental consideration for those wishing to become MNPs is that you must have the confidence and skills to work autonomously in any remote or austere environment, as you ultimately will be the one responding to an incident or a
sick patient and providing treatment or deciding if, when or how you need to evacuate.
Being a Military Nurse Practitioner is an incredibly rewarding job and medical planners are increasingly seeing and understanding the utility of deploying us instead of routinely requesting a Medical Officer. Deploying with Gurkhas to their native country has not only meant working with a part of the British Army that I had not fully experienced before but also provided me with the opportunity to be truly immersed within a different culture. My limited research since being in Nepal has shown that the last QARANC here were posted to British Military Hospital (BMH) Dharan which was in the east of Nepal but closed in 1989. Military nurses also deployed here from BMH Hong Kong on Op NIGHTINGALE for disaster relief following an earthquake in August 1988. Although it has been 27 years since the last QARANC deployed to Nepal, I am confident that amazing opportunities to serve on operations similar to this will become increasingly available to us in the very near future.
Major Lynda Ricketts Military Nurse Practitioner (Primary Care)
Maj Ricketts being presented with ‘mala’ by the local school children