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CAF deploys to fight Ebola (Op SIRONA)

The Bread Guy

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From the Info-machine - highlights mine:
The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Health, along with the Honourable Robert Nicholson, Minister of National Defence, and Dr. Gregory Taylor, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, today announced further action and support to respond to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

Canada is addressing the need for medical assistance on the ground in West Africa by launching the “Join the Fight Against Ebola” campaign, which will promote the recruitment of Canadian healthcare workers through the Canadian Red Cross. Much needed healthcare workers will help manage existing Ebola Treatment Centres in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, by providing care for patients and allowing facilities to expand the number of treatment beds available to patients. Recruitment efforts will focus on medical doctors and nurses, psychosocial support workers, water and sanitation engineers, and infection prevention and control workers.

Canada will also provide $20.9 million in new additional funding to ten humanitarian organizations working to address the increased humanitarian needs of people affected by the Ebola crisis. The funding will support treatment efforts, training activities and psychological support, as well as help communities and families cope with the outbreak. It will also help address urgent training needs for medical personnel and emergency experts who will be deployed to Ebola-affected countries.

In addition, up to 40 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) health care and support staff will deploy to Sierra Leone for up to six months to support efforts on the ground in West Africa. Canadian military doctors, nurses, medics and support staff will work alongside their United Kingdom military counterparts operating at the Kerry Town Treatment Unit (KTTU) to treat local and international healthcare workers who have been exposed to the Ebola virus disease ....

More on Operation SIRONA:
.... The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) mission is called Operation SIRONA, and in augmenting the UK Operation GRITROCK, will focus efforts in Kerry Town, Sierra Leone, treating suspected and confirmed cases of Ebola in local and international healthcare workers.

Up to 40 Canadian Armed Forces healthcare and support staff will deploy to Sierra Leone in support of the Government of Canada’s whole-of-government response to fighting the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Canadian military doctors, nurses, medics and support staff will augment the UK military medical personnel operating at the UK's Kerry Town Treatment Unit (KTTU) in Kerry Town, Sierra Leone. Prior to deploying to WA, CAF medical personnel will receive the same training as their UK counterparts at the Army Medical Services Training Centre (AMSTC) in Strensall, UK.

The initial deployment into Sierra Leone will commence late December and will be preceded by comprehensive training which will allow CAF personnel to safely and effectively augment United Kingdom military medical personnel operating at the Kerry Town Treatment Unit.

Mission and training

Canadian military doctors, nurses, medics and support staff will work alongside their UK military partners to treat local and international health care workers who have been exposed to the Ebola virus disease. The goal of the UK mission is to fight Ebola by providing local healthcare support and to build a capability that will be handed to NGOs and local healthcare workers to manage and staff.

Beginning on December 8, 2014, CAF personnel will train alongside their British counterparts at the state-of-the-art British Army Medical Services Training Centre in Strensall, UK. Training together will ensure full interoperability prior to deployment.

Training will include working with experts in infectious disease, including Ebola, and with health workers with experience working in Sierra Leone, as well as practical scenarios in a simulated Ebola treatment centre. Training will also encompass cultural awareness and language training.

CAF personnel will be fully trained on the use of personal protective equipment required to keep staff safe and to prevent infection.

Scheduled to be operating in Sierra Leone by December 28, 2014, the initial deployment is expected to last up to six months for command and support staff. The Canadian military health care personnel will be rotated every two months during the deployment ....
More on the Brit work/Op GRITROCK in Sierra Leone here and here, and the Kerry Town Treatment Centre here
 
How very un-NDHQ'sh to choose an Op name based on common sense...when I was in Eureka, the OP name was OP NEVUS.  A nevus is essentially a skin mole.  I guess the budget cuts included the crack the OPs computer was smoking to come up with its names  ::).

MM
 
Is this a DART deployment?
Ebola fight sees Canadian Forces medical team deployed to Sierra Leone
About 40 military personnel will train in the U.K. before continuing on to Sierra Leone later this month

CBC News
06 Dec 2014

A Canadian Forces medical team left CFB Trenton in Ontario on Saturday en route to Britain, where they’ll undergo training before deploying to Sierra Leone as part of the effort to combat the Ebola outbreak, the military said.

The Forces said about 40 nurses, doctors, physicians’ assistants, medics and support are to train alongside U.K. military personnel, and most of them will continue on to Sierra Leone by later this month.

"There’s no question it's a little scary, but we also have very good training and we're a team. We'll be working with the British and will be there to help people," said Cpl. Lisa Ouellette before departing for the U.K.

Lt. Melanie Espina, a physician, said contagion risks are minimal "when proper equipment is worn."

The Canadian Forces team will be working at a British-built clinic in Sierra Leone treating local and international health care workers, who themselves have become infected in the course of treating Ebola patients from the general population.

The deployment is the first contingent of Canadian Forces medical staff to deploy to West Africa as part of the global anti-Ebola effort. The team is expected to remain in Sierra Leone for a maximum of six months.

The Department of National Defence announced the deployment last week.

“I am proud our Canadian Armed Force professionals and support staff members will meaningfully contribute to this important international mission," said Minister of National Defence Rob Nicholson.

government has an evacuation plan in place after recently signing an agreement with two commercial companies, Health Minister Rona Ambrose said.

"We have resolved the medevac issue. We didn't feel it was responsible for us to be encouraging people to go to West Africa until we felt very comfortable with the medical evacuation options for Canadians. We feel comfortable with that now," Ambrose said.

Canada is also offering an additional $20.9 million to help fight the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

The $20.9 million will be given to 10 humanitarian organizations:

- For treatment and psychological support.
- To help local communities cope with the outbreak.
- To train medical personnel and emergency experts who will be deployed to the region.

The Red Cross says it has 17 people currently on the ground, and the additional money for urgent training needs will help fill the demand for health-care workers in Ebola treatment centres in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

"Since the beginning of this Ebola outbreak in March 2014, recruiting doctors, nurses and support staff has been our greatest challenge," said Conrad Sauvé, secretary general of the Canadian Red Cross.

With the announcement Thursday, Canada has committed $113.5 million to help in the fight against Ebola.

According to the World Health Organization, there were 15,351 reported cases and 5,459 deaths worldwide.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ebola-fight-sees-canadian-forces-medical-team-deployed-to-sierra-leone-1.2863340
 
No it is not. 

Operation SIRONA is the military component of the Canadian whole-of-government contribution to fighting the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel will augment efforts undertaken by the United Kingdom to combat the spread of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Sierra Leone.

The Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Development (DFATD) is the departmental lead for Canada’s efforts against Ebola.

http://www.forces.gc.ca/en/operations-abroad/op-sirona.page
 
No, malarone will prevent that. And rainy season starts in June.

Travellers diarrhea and other usual bugs and bites will be thier biggest threat, despite the group being based out of a western resort.
 
Getting 15 CF nurses to work together under a Brit Commander will be the biggest issue.
 
They found 15 nurses fit to deploy was the first miracle.
 
As a "soon to be" member of the Canadian Forces, I thought it was all about working together and helping eachother towards the same goals...not about diminishing or generalizing the members of a particular profession...
 
15 nurses? TFE, No canvas to sling, no sand bagging, and working from facility located in a European style resort... The scramble will be generating nurses for Roto 2!
 
icunurse said:
As a "soon to be" member of the Canadian Forces, I thought it was all about working together and helping eachother towards the same goals...

It is.............

icunurse said:
not about diminishing or generalizing the members of a particular profession...

We slag each other like there's no tomorrow,.......get used to it or find a different avenue of employment.
 
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