29/06/2016 - Permalink

Mobile field hospital to highlight reservist opportunities to NHS staff

Related topics: Health / Partner organisations

News from our partners Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust

A mobile field hospital will be visiting Shropshire’s two acute hospitals to highlight spare time opportunities in the Medical Services’ Army Reserve for NHS staff.

The military medical facility will be at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) on 27 July 2016 and the Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford on 28 July 2016.

Representatives from the Army Medical Services’ 202 (Midlands) Field Hospital will be on hand to provide staff with details of the opportunities to sign up to be reservists.

The events will also demonstrate how The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), which runs RSH and PRH, supports its Reservists and the opportunities that are available.

The events will run from 10am until 2pm, with the RSH one taking place outside the Learning Centre, and the PRH event outside the main entrance.

In 2011 the Trust signed up to a new partnership with the military to help develop leadership skills, share best practice, and ensure the organisation and the Armed Forces are able to respond to changing clinical needs.

The partnership sees reservists contributing to training and development events in the Trust, together with opportunities for clinical and non-clinical staff at all levels to learn from experienced reservists. The Trust and reservists are also able to train together to improve safety, effectiveness and patient experience in both organisations.

Last year the Trust also signed up to the Ministry of Defence’s Corporate Covenant Scheme, a voluntary pledge that builds a two-way relationship between employers and the Armed Forces.

It recognises that:

    • the Armed Forces community should not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services in the area where they live;
    • special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given most such as the injured and the bereaved.

 

Captain Richard Courteney-Harris, from 202 (Midlands) Field Hospital, said:

“Wherever you find the British Army, you will find the Army Medical Services (AMS) who can deploy at short notice anywhere in the world to provide medical support. Whether that support is during war, counter insurgency, peace-making or during peacekeeping operations, the AMS will be there to maintain soldiers’ health and provide medical care to the sick and injured, both military and civilian.

“202 (Midlands) Field Hospital forms part of the Army Medical Services and is manned by NHS staff from Trusts across the Midlands, including Shropshire’s acute hospitals.  A military field hospital can be deployed anywhere in the world and set up using tents or existing buildings providing secondary medical care to soldiers and if need be, civilians, in the field.

“Fully deployed, a field hospital provides 200 nursing and ITU (Intensive Therapy Unit) beds, seven operating theatres and a full range of diagnostic services and other clinical departments. They are 566 strong and are further augmented by support staff and logistic staff.  The physical size of a fully deployed military field hospital is such that it would take some time to fully construct.

“However in order that you can see elements of a deployed hospital, C Detachment 202 Field Hospital, based in Shrewsbury, will be visiting RSH on 27 July and PRH on 28 July and will be deploying some of the infrastructure which goes to make up a deployed facility.  The intention is to give Trust staff the opportunity talk to serving NHS Reservists about their experiences and also see some of the equipment and facilities first hand.”

Further information

  • The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust is the main provider of acute hospital care for almost 500,000 people from Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and mid Wales. Patients come to us from Telford, Shrewsbury, Ludlow, Oswestry, Bridgnorth, Whitchurch, Newtown and Welshpool in Powys.
  • The Trust continues to work with its partners in health and social care in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and mid Wales to develop patient-focused services that meet the needs of our communities.
  • If you have any feedback about local healthcare, independent support and signposting is available from Healthwatch Shropshire, Healthwatch Telford and Wrekin and Powys Community Health Council (CHC):

For more information contact John Kirk, Communications and Engagement Manager at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, on 01743 492285.