Red Cross team are up to the challenge

When medics from the Territorial Army threw down the gauntlet (or should that be rubber glove?) recently, challenging fellow professionals from across the public and private sectors in Ireland North and South to take part in a military style exercise at Ballykinler Training Camp, the British Red Cross team was amongst the first to volunteer. In the face of tough opposition they also showed they were right on target.

While the exercise delivers more than its fair share of fun, including the chance to relax with some archery lessons, there is a serious purpose behind the weekend.

Exercise Medical Challenge which is organized and staged annually by Territorial Army medics aims to build understanding and awareness of an organization which today makes up one quarter of Britain’s defence forces. Many of the medics involved in setting up and managing the simulated clinical scenarios which make up the Exercise have already put the techniques and skills they were showcasing into practice while on active service in war zones overseas. The emphasis is on bringing out key team management and communication skills whilst exposing teams of professionals to the latest developments in pre-hospital and trauma medicine as exemplified by the leading edge work of army medical services across the world today.

Medical Challenge creates its realistic scenarios in a field environment in which clinicians, doctors, nurses and other medical professionals test their skills to the utmost. The scenarios may be fictitious, but the tasks and demands are painstakingly based on those which have been faced by local Territorial Army medics serving abroad and working alongside Regular Army counterparts …. and the pace is almost as demanding as it would be in real life.

This year the medics created scenarios which challenged participants with handling a range of emergencies. It may be a far cry from their routine work, but that can prove hard to remember that when you find yourself confronted by the realism of the scenarios, the contribution of actors and the constant pressure from those overseeing Exercise Challenge.

Athene Gordon of SaBRE Northern Ireland says, “You could be forgiven for thinking that work in the health sector is sufficiently challenging already…. but it seems that health professionals remain enthusiastic about opportunities to learn from and share experiences with their peers. A large proportion of the Territorial Army now has a medical remit and, consequently, a large proportion of Territorials in Northern Ireland are drawn from the healthcare sector. Exercise Medical Challenge allows us to showcase to their colleagues and employers the sort of work which those individuals tackle both at home, as part of their TA training, and abroad, when they serve alongside Regular Army counterparts. It is a fabulous opportunity to learn in the field, with realism and immediacy adding impact to the ‘lessons’.’