extent of military support - no big deal ?

[peridito]

Another 400 drafted in today to support hospitals .

We've already got 1,800 "supporting the NHS response to the Covid-19 pandemic", and "More than 400 military paramedics assisting ambulance trusts, with 313 in the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust and 96 in the Scottish Ambulance Service."

Plus another 1,000 working on the vaccine booster programme, with 730 in England, 221 in Scotland and 98 in Wales.

Is it just me or does anyone else feel that the media /gov are underplaying the significance of the military support currently deployed ?

I know it's not new and that there was support last year but I feel unsettled by the numbers and how little it seems to be discussed in Parliament ( though I may have missed that ).

It doesn't fit in with the narrative that it's just a cold and covid is over.

40 hour waits at A&E, ambulance services asking people with suspected heart attacks and strokes to get a lift to hospital, now the military drafted in. But as long as everyone enjoyed their New Year's party, it's all fine...

It is so concerning right now

I know this isn't a popular view but I feel we should use military more than we do. We are not fighting a war and yet the cost of armed forces is phenominal.
Any medically trained service personnel should be semi-permanently deployed in hospitals when not required for training.

The situation must be absolutely horrendous for the NHS staff still in work right now. Even with the extra hands, these military personnel will still need-quite rightly-extra support in orientation and processes etc. My heart goes out to them.
I just hope this is short and sharp. This is completely unsustainable.

Another military wife here whose DH was sent away twice in the last six months to assist. For anyone who thinks the military are just sat around doing nothing when there is no war going on is wrong. The work remains there to be done. So when you are sent away at less than 24 hours notice for 8 weeks, the work that was missed in those 8 weeks still needs to be caught up on. They do get paid a decent salary but when you spread that across the hours that they actually do, it probably works out for some at less than minimum wage.

I think its fantastic (not NHS staff shortages, but the fact that we have a highly trained, world wide respected military to be proud of, who we can call on in times such as these). We should be shouting about this more, singing their praises from the roof tops.

This.

Our local news (Scotland) has just announced arrival of more for our hospital here.

Our NHS staff need all the help we can get - and what better than our forces?

@rbdash

Another military wife here whose DH was sent away twice in the last six months to assist. For anyone who thinks the military are just sat around doing nothing when there is no war going on is wrong. The work remains there to be done. So when you are sent away at less than 24 hours notice for 8 weeks, the work that was missed in those 8 weeks still needs to be caught up on. They do get paid a decent salary but when you spread that across the hours that they actually do, it probably works out for some at less than minimum wage.

Well said.

It’s a bit sad to see the POV that Forces are sat around with not much to do is still being perpetuated by some here..

As you say the training requirements/deployments etc probably won’t get diluted or reduced because of Covid…so potentially less time at home for at least some of those still serving….

Quite a lot of military personnel are trained to do more than one thing. For example a friend of DMs was a Marines bandsman - although ostensibly their role was to be a musician the whole team were also trained as medical orderlies and dispatched to the Falklands to carry out those duties. So soldiers who are not members of the army medical corps may actually have a degree of medical training.

@Siuan

I know this isn't a popular view but I feel we should use military more than we do. We are not fighting a war and yet the cost of armed forces is phenominal. Any medically trained service personnel should be semi-permanently deployed in hospitals when not required for training.

Medically trained regular personnel are deployed to NHS hospitals as a matter of routine. That’s where they get the day to day experience in using their skills

Medically trained reserves personnel work in healthcare anyway, they medical professionals employed either in the NHS or private healthcare then volunteer for the Reserves in their spare time.

The Army, Navy & RAF were used from day one of Covid to support the NHS and other essential services. A question asked in MoD dial ins is what should they do if they are already in an NHS hospital anyway - the answer was to just continue as normal, they were already supporting the NHS

@nordica

It doesn't fit in with the narrative that it's just a cold and covid is over.

40 hour waits at A&E, ambulance services asking people with suspected heart attacks and strokes to get a lift to hospital, now the military drafted in. But as long as everyone enjoyed their New Year's party, it's all fine...

This is the extraordinary thing. We are making people isolate if they test positive for something that we now have had in the UK for 6 weeks (?) which seemingly, kills far fewer people than those other serious conditions you list, and in doing so, they therefore unable to treat those other serious patients, or indeed the Covid patients, or to be there at all. Hey presto, by definition, the NHS is overwhelmed because so many staff are isolating. For the seemingly so far, mild thing. Mind blowing.

The isolation rules need to be changed I think , but how , or for how long or if it's still safe is all questions that need to be looked at.
Having HCPs walking around with it and still infectious might not be a good idea at all of course. Plus it can take four days to get over and it's not mild for every single person either.

@the80sweregreat

The isolation rules need to be changed I think , but how , or for how long or if it's still safe is all questions that need to be looked at. Having HCPs walking around with it and still infectious might not be a good idea at all of course. Plus it can take four days to get over and it's not mild for every single person either.

Yes agree. Something needs to change around isolation but what and how are beyond me. It's a proper catch 22 that's for damn sure.

Is it just me or does anyone else feel that the media /gov are underplaying the significance of the military support currently deployed ?

For me it's the cognitive dissonance between the continuing (for the last month) headlines like

^"Boris Johnson sees nothing in the data to warrant further curbs on covid spread "
^
and then in army having to be brought in.

(Thank god we have them - but it's a big deal that our health service is so much more over burdened with covid this wave that the medics already embedded in the NHS have to be added to substantially.)

For anyone who thinks the military are just sat around doing nothing when there is no war going on is wrong. The work remains there to be done
I am honestly not being goady but curious as to what the "work" is? Is it training / practising for possible deployments? What are the medics doing - are there still military hospitals?

We are quite close to Frimley Park hospital, which trains and is home to many military medics.

They are there, you just may not be used to seeing them, if they are not local to you.

@Siuan

For anyone who thinks the military are just sat around doing nothing when there is no war going on is wrong. The work remains there to be done I am honestly not being goady but curious as to what the "work" is? Is it training / practising for possible deployments? What are the medics doing - are there still military hospitals?

A fair percentage of the military won’t be in the UK, they’ll be off deployed..those that aren’t currently deployed and are in the UK need to stay in practice because most skills required by the military are perishable….if you don’t practice their use regularly they degrade.

The infantry need to stay seriously fit and up to speed on for example their weapons training and proficiency, other examples would be military pilots need to carry on flying,, so you need the support personnel in place to facilitate that, weapons operators, specialists of whatever sort in whatever discipline in general need to carry on training for whatever they might need to do….

It’s also worth bearing in mind even supposedly non front line personnel in admin and support roles will have a requirement to stay fit and on top of whatever task they might get diverted to in the case of hostilities…

There is of course no doubt some training benefit to be had in forces medics in being diverted to spend time/more time in hospitals, and I guess there is some value in those involved in driving/logistics doing similar to support the NHS….on the other hand diverting large numbers of Forces personnel away from their primary role for long periods of time to support the likes of the NHS might not be the best idea in the world.

The Gov do tend treat them like well funded scout group. Yes some times they need serious skills but like Olympics shambles when they did bag searching because contract failed.

What are the medics doing - are there still military hospitals?

No, the military simply doesn't generate enough patients to make one viable any more. But there are military units attached to some NHS hospitals - military clinicians work in those alongside NHS. There is also the new rehabilitation centre at Stanford Hall.

Of course they also train (military preparedness, professional CPD) and see patients (the military does all its own primary care for serving personnel, and occasionally families but only overseas or if the local CCG funds them). They deploy both operationally and for the larger military training exercises. They get loaned overseas for disaster relief and capability building for other countries. Some of course work in public health roles, and health policy and plans.

DMS has been cut to its bare bones in successive defence reviews, and is a fraction of its former size.

It is being played down by the daily Mail , the ERG , the health secretary the PM and the 1922 committee.
Listen to lbc radio and the paramedics and HCPs crying to James o Brien about 70 hour plus weeks and having to administer pain relief in the back of an ambulance and just how exhausted and wrung out they are because of staff absences and lack of resources.
I know who I believe and it's not our liar of a PM or his government.

@the80sweregreat

The isolation rules need to be changed I think , but how , or for how long or if it's still safe is all questions that need to be looked at. Having HCPs walking around with it and still infectious might not be a good idea at all of course. Plus it can take four days to get over and it's not mild for every single person either.

Even for those where it is 'mild' - ie, doesn't land someone in hospital - it can be rotten. It DID land my DD in hospital, fortunately briefly, and she was so, so unwell and has taken a lot longer than four days to recover. A healthy 10 year old, absolutely wiped out by it. This narrative is quite upsetting.

It's all being played down massively