UK joins world to tackle ebola in West Africa: Photo: MoD
Ebola outbreak distribution in some West African countries. Photo source as above.
As a response to the geometrical and global spread of Ebola in west Africa, Vigilance can report that the Ministry of Defence has provided hundreds of troops, an aviation support ship and three Merlin helicopters as the UK ramps up its efforts to tackle the virus.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon laid out the measures at an emergency COBR committee meeting recently, chaired by the Prime Minister to discuss the UK’s response to the Ebola crisis which is being led by the Department for International Development.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: “The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is already a global threat to public health and it’s vital that the UK remains at the forefront of responding to the epidemic.
“Following today’s meeting we are stepping up significantly the UK’s contribution and leadership in work to tackle the outbreak, on land, in the air and at sea. At the heart of the package is the commitment to provide more than 750 personnel to help with the establishment of Ebola Treatment Centres and an Ebola Training Academy. We are deploying troops, helicopters and a ship – Army medics and Merlin helicopters, supported by the RFA Argus to provide direct support and reassurance.”
The UK’s new pledge for military involvement will include: A commitment to provide further personnel to the region who will join the highly-skilled engineers, logisticians and planners that are already on the ground to support the construction of the Kerry Town Ebola Treatment Unit;
Support for a World Health Organisation-led Ebola training facility to assist in the training of healthcare workers, logisticians and hygienists who are needed to staff treatment units. This support includes the provision of over 200 military staff to run the site
Three Royal Navy Merlin helicopters and aircrew and engineers to facilitate the rapid movement of key personnel to areas that they are required and;
An Aviation support ship that will operate as a forward base for our helicopters.
The UK Armed Forces have so far played a pivotal role in delivering the current British support as they work with the government of Sierra Leone to tackle the crisis. Using British expertise and local building contractors, the UK has committed to support 700 new beds in Ebola treatment facilities. This new package will further support the country’s stretched public health services in containing the disease by helping up to nearly 8,800 patients over a 6 month period.
Military personnel will deploy to Sierra Leone next week where they will join military engineers and planners who have been in country for almost a month, overseeing the construction of the medical facilities.
Armed Forces Minister Meets Troops Preparing for Sierra Leonne Ebola Duty
Minister for the Armed Forced Mark Francois has praised military personnel going through medical training to help tackle Ebola in West Africa.
Mr Francois witnessed mission training at the Army Medical Services Training Centre (AMSTC), at Strensall near York, which is designed to develop and assess the clinical and organisational procedures required, as more than 100 members of the British Army’s 22 Field Hospital prepare to provide a 12-bed treatment unit for healthcare workers in Sierra Leone.
Personnel carried out parts of the exercise in personal protective equipment in a hangar converted into a mock-up field hospital, treating simulated casualties to replicate the situation they expect to find when they deploy.
Minister for the Armed Forces, Mark Francois, said: “The Ebola virus represents a global threat to public health and we will not stand idly by. This UK has been at the forefront of responding to the epidemic and our medics will continue the great work already carried out by the military engineers, planners, DfID and FCO representatives and NGOs. This operation will involve a unique set of challenges but I believe that our military medics, who we are extremely proud of, have the ability to provide support to the World Health Organisation in helping to bring the outbreak under control.”
Military personnel will deploy to Sierra Leone next week where they will join military engineers and planners who have been in country for almost a month, working with local contractors, overseeing the construction of the medical facilities. The facilities will be operated in support of the DfID mission to operate another Ebola hospital called the Kerry Town Treatment Centre (KTTC).
Commander 2 Medical Brigade, Brigadier Kevin Beaton, said: “We have created a detailed mock-up of the environment we will be operating in once deployed, enabling out personnel to get used to the procedures they will have to undergo and their personal protective equipment, working in challenging conditions.
Brigadier beaton stressed: “We believe this is a mission worth doing, and a risk worth taking to protect our people as we tackle Ebola.”
The 12-bed facility is just one strand of the UK’s commitment to tackling Ebola. Using British expertise and local building contractors, the UK has pledged to establish the physical infrastructure for a total of 700 beds. The UK will build at least four new Ebola Treatment Facilities near urban centres including Port Loko, Freetown, Makeni, and Bo.
A team of over 40 military personnel, including logisticians, planners and engineers, are currently on the ground in Sierra Leone to oversee the construction of the UK’s facility near Freetown and develop sites for new facilities.
Also, First Steel cut on £348M Royal Navy Warship Contract...
Recently, Steel was cut for the first of three new Royal Navy offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) at a ceremony in Glasgow attended by the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) Chief of Defence Materiel.
The vessels, which will be used by the Royal Navy to undertake various tasks in support of UK interests both at home and abroad, will be built at BAE Systems’ shipyards in a contract that has protected more than 800 Scottish jobs.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: “This multi-million-pound contract will benefit the dedicated workers of the Clyde, their families and the local economy in Glasgow. This investment by the UK government is vital for the sustainment of naval shipbuilding in this country and the hundreds of specialist manufacturing and engineering roles that play an important role in providing war-fighting capability for the Royal Navy.”
Bernard Gray, the MoD’s Chief of Defence Materiel, started the computer-guided laser to cut the first piece of steel. After the ceremony, Mr Gray met members of the workforce during a tour of the facility.
He said: “I am proud to be able to start production work on this new class of ships, which will maintain the vital UK expertise needed to build the warships of the future.
“This contract, which will benefit the local economy in Glasgow, continues a 200 year tradition of building the nation’s leading ships on the Clyde and will sustain hundreds of jobs across the region.”
Featuring a re-designed flight deck to operate the latest Merlin helicopters as well as increased storage and accommodation facilities, the OPVs build on the proven capability of the Royal Navy’s current River Class vessels.
The Secretary of State for Scotland, Alistair Carmichael, said: “Today marks another major chapter in the long history of building warships on the Clyde. Scotland is leading the way in building the UK’s warships and this underlines the UK Government’s commitment to the shipbuilding industry on the Clyde.
Secretary Carmuchael declared: “I am sure the OPV’s will be yet another fine example of the expert craftsmanship of our skilled shipbuilders. Over the coming years we will see the familiar sight of ships coming off the yard and travelling down the Clyde to serve the Royal Navy’s activities across the globe.”
Having played an important role in the construction of HMS Queen Elizabeth, which was named by the Queen in a ceremony this summer, workers on the Clyde are now manufacturing blocks for the second aircraft carrier, the Prince of Wales, which is being assembled Rosyth dockyard, near Edinburgh. Work on the OPVs will help sustain skilled jobs on the Clyde and support BAE Systems’ work to improve the efficiency of shipbuilding operations.
The first OPV will be named HMS Forth and is expected to be handed over to the Royal Navy in 2017. The second will be named HMS Medway and the third HMS Trent.
In another development, British Jobs Boost Thanks to £40M Contract...
A number of highly skilled technology jobs have been protected across the country thanks to a £40 million contract to support the Royal Air Force’s (RAF) air-to-air missile system.
The contract with MBDA, which designed and manufactured the Advanced Short-Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM), will provide support infrastructure and maintenance for the weapon for the next five years.
The deal will sustain multiple positions at the company’s factories in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, Greater Manchester and Bedfordshire and will ensure the effectiveness of these highly agile air-to-air missiles which equip the UK’s Air Quick Reaction Alert aircraft, who are responsible for protecting UK airspace as well as on operations in the Gulf and Libya.
Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology Philip Dunne MP said: “This contract is more positive news for MBDA and the United Kingdom’s Complex Weapons sector. It will sustain a number of highly skilled jobs and is another example of the Ministry of Defence’s continuing commitment to British technology.
“ASRAAM continues to provide the Royal Air Force with crucial battle-winning capability for Within Visual Range combat missions. This contract will enable MBDA to maintain the skills required to ensure that the RAF continues to perform at its very best on operations.