256 Field Hospital B Det EX IVERNA SERPENT

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1 256 Field Hospital B Det EX IVERNA SERPENT Written and edited by: Captain Dominika Goroszeniuk A leadership and team building day 1 day, 4 challenges, a lot of rain, a sprinkling of sun and most importantly - hot tea. As an Army Medical Reserve unit we wanted to run a day which allowed people from the NHS and other medical organisations to see some of what we do. It was also an opportunity to challenge them by doing something they may never have a chance to do in their everyday jobs. 256 Field hospital B detachment (based in Kensington) were very pleased to welcome participants from the London Ambulance Service (LAS) and South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAMB). We set up 4 teams and started them on a variety of special tasks that had been set up around Longmoor Camp. They included an assault course, a medical stand, an indoor shooting range and a vehicle recovery stand. I had the pleasure of escorting a group from SECAMB and we managed to time the assault course perfectly having just missed the torrential downpour, and after the happiness of finishing the run a hot cup of tea. Chris Rutter Motorcycle response Paramedic with London Ambulance Service Teamwork All obstacles can be overcome but only if you work as a team.

2 SECAMB brains beat the LAS brawn on the Land 4 Challenges Assault Course After a little warm up, the groups had to face several obstacles on the assault course, which tested their determination, facing heights, jumping skills and upper body strength. Indoor Shooting Range Groups had to participate in a watch and shoot simulation Recovery Command Task Teams were split into 2, and had to pull a Landover defender up a hill, using a winch system. Medical Stand SSgt Houghton taught the groups about triage of casualties, and evacuation drills using a variety of stretchers. They were then put a test in a Simulation scenario. Today is really good fun. I really enjoyed the shooting on the indoor range it used really cool technology. The recovery task was good too but quite hard work Georgie Seaman Paramedic with London Ambulance Service. It s been a good day it s been quite physically challenging I m probably not as fit as I thought I was! I have some previous military experience as I attended the Army Foundation College in Catterick when I was a youngster but chose not to pursue a military career. - Curtis Rutter, motorcycle response paramedic with LAS The assault course consisted of obstacles that got the groups up on high walls, jumping from heights and landing with forward rolls that would have put the GB gymnastics team to shame. There were some very impressive demonstrations of rope climbing and upper body strength. It was very nice to see the groups work together as a team to get everyone through. SSgt Houghton Dave Biginton Advanced Paramedic Practitioner with LAS 2

3 Vehicle recovery station Facing the unknown, working as a team! Perhaps doing the medical stand was the most familiar out of all the challenges. The groups learned how we do triage of mass casualties in the medical reserves and then tried to figure out how to use the number of different stretchers that were available. But we didn t want to make things too easy, so we had a simulation scenario performed by all the teams in the dark with lots of noise and some fantastic medical casualties. I really enjoyed the day and definitely took away from it more than just the bruises and rope burn! I hope the rest of you are still aching this morning, that would make me feel better! - Nigel Brown 3

4 The challenge that it seemed most people were looking forward to was the indoor shooting range. The Dismounted Close Combat Trainer is a training range for the military so this was a perfect opportunity for everyone to try their hands at a new skill. They were looked after very well by the military team that ensured their weapons were safe to use. All the groups participated in a video simulation of a mission, and there were some very impressive shooting skills. These 4 challenges were set to test a variety of skills. On the vehicle recovery stand, the groups came face to face with winching kit (which most of them had never seen before) and had to plan how to get a large Land Rover up a hill. So how do you perform a task with kit you ve never seen or handled before? This is probably a common event for us in the medical family. Interestingly, all of the teams found they had a very competitive streak and pushed themselves physically to get their vehicle up the hill first. The SECAMB team had the fastest pull up the hill that WO1 Lewis had seen. Well done! The Land Rover pull demonstrated that if you assessed and planned a task prior to jumping in, you could still do it faster than with strength alone. All members of a team have certain skills spatial awareness, previous experience, strength and leadership, and this day was to highlight those individual skills and to show how using them together your team can get ahead in anything you put yourselves to. LAS Present day LAS founded in Busiest ambulance service in the UK. Only London-wide NHS Trust. Covers an area of approximately 620 square miles A sincere thanks for our team, think we may have shown the youngsters a thing or two Matt Bridgeman SECAMB team on indoor shooting range SECAMB Founded in South East Coast ambulance Service covers a geographical area of 3,600 square miles (Brighton & Hove, East Sussex, West Sussex, Kent, Surrey and North East Hampshire). Densely populated areas, large rural areas and some of the busiest motorways in the country. 4

5 It s been a good refresher today. We ve taken part in shooting which was fun, the recovery task where we worked very well as a team, and the casualty evacuation scenario was fun and a bit different getting us to use our communication skills and teamwork under pressure to complete the scenario successfully. Calum Burnett, Advanced Paramedic Practitioner with SECAMB We hope you enjoyed the day! It was a really good day and very much enjoyable. The staff were very welcoming and more than happy to be of assistance. It provided a good insight into their work and hopefully there will be more events like this Luke Wheeler Thank you for your teams time, effort and encouragement on the day Nigel Brown Thank you to everyone in the army for making the day what it was Matt Bridgeman The Land Rover winch challenge finally in the sunshine! 5

6 Future plans Whatever your plans in the future, we hope you learned a thing or two about how to deal with the unknown, and face challenges together. Good luck! I m an ex-army Reservist and ACF Cadet having served with 106 Royal Artillery. I ve come along today for nostalgic reasons and also to see if anything has changed since I left in It s been a good fun day though and I ve enjoyed it immensely. If my personal situation and commitments were different I d reconsider joining the Reserves again. Dave Biginton, Advanced Paramedic Practitioner with LAS I m hoping to join the Army Reserve in Hitchin in Hertfordshire and I ve got my assessment in Pirbright later this month. I thought coming along today would be a good taster. I think being a Reservist will give me something new to do and will put me out of my comfort zone. - Louise Newton, Apprentice Paramedic with LAS Many thanks for their help: Sarah Johnson marketing communications (STORM), Kevin Poolman - photographer So for now we have to say farewell to sunny Longmoor Camp and our fantastic participants from LAS and SECAMB. We really hope you have all had fun, learned some new things and bonded with your friends and colleagues. Good luck in your future endeavors. Captain Dominika 256 Field Hospital London Organisers: Capt Webber Capt Sexton Combat trainer DCCT Recovery Command Task WO1 Lewis Medical Stand SSgt Houghton Obstacle Course Sgt Cattermole and Sgt Smith