Even our Afghan Base is called Nightingale

By Caroline Crowe and Mark Mason, The Sun

CELEBRATED as the Lady With The Lamp for her tireless work helping injured soldiers in the Crimean War, she remains the most famous nurse in history.
And while today marks the 100th anniversary of her death, Florence Nightingale’s incredible legacy lives on.

The inspirational figure helped to transform nursing into a highly respected profession. And the school she founded in 1860 – now Florence Nightingale School Of Nursing And Midwifery at King’s College London – is today regarded as a centre of excellence for nursing education.

The Sun today meets modern day nurses who have followed in Florence Nightingales footsteps.

FLIGHT Lieutenant Vanessa, 41, from Eastbourne, East Sussex, is on her second tour in Afghanistan with Princess Mary’s RAF Nursing Service. She has also served in Iraq.

“Every day I witness something memorable – the bravery of the injured soldier, the life-saving work done by medics or the monumental effort the troops put into stretcher-bearing their injured to safety.

‘Being a nurse in the military is great’ … Vanessa Miles
Photo: Capt Leanne Christmas RE/MOD 2010

My mother and sister were nurses and I always wanted to be an emergency nurse.
I worked as a civilian nurse in the Field Hospital in Iraq and that inspired me to join the RAF in 2007.Being a nurse in the military is great. I feel really valued. We have lots of good kit and are highly respected.

I am the Officer Commanding of the Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT).

The MERT flies on a Chinook helicopter from Camp Bastion, retrieves casualties from the ground and assesses and treats them during the flight back to the military hospital.

Targeted by the Taliban when flying out to casualties, we are protected by armour and the skill of the Chinook aircrew. Apache helicopters also escort and protect us.

In essence we take the emergency room to the casualty and that can make a real difference.
The influence of Florence Nightingale lives on.

Even the helicopter landing site at the hospital is known as “Nightingale”.”

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MUJAHIDEEN MEDIC’S MERCY MISSIONS

A former Mujahideen fighter, now a senior NCO in the Afghan National Army (ANA) is bringing medical care to remote villages in central Helmand with help from ISAF forces in a program known as Village Medical Outreach (VMO). Dur Mohammad joined the Mujahideen in 1987 to fight the Russian occupation and he’s been fighting ever since. He’s been shot 3 times and he pulls down his T shirt to reveal the scar left by a bullet.

When the Russians left, the Taleban came and in between fighting he turned to medicine, training in Kabul. He joined the ANA nearly 5 years ago and for most of that time he’s been working on a primary healthcare programme bringing medicines and treatment to small villages in the area around Camp Bastion.

Afghan National Army soldiers and gunners from No1 Squadron RAF Regiment setting up a reception area for a primary health care clinic at the village of Habibabad

Although the village of Habibabad is not far from a patrol base, the surrounding area is far from benign. A US armoured vehicle recently triggered an IED and the insurgents are running a programme of intimidation. Treatment is hard to get anywhere else. The nearest medical facilities are more than 50 kilometres away at Lashkah Gar and with no roads and few vehicles it’s not an easy trip. When the convoy arrives at the village there is an outer cordon of armoured vehicles already in place. ANA, RAF Regiment and US troops watch the surrounding desert for any sign of impending trouble.

Eventually a lone man carrying a small child appears in the distance and strides towards the red tape forming a barrier around the clinic and waiting area. Everyone watches and sure enough, he wants to come in. It opens the floodgates.

Staff Sergeant Dur Mohammad treats a villager in the clinic

Everyone wanting treatment, even the babies, is searched away from the waiting area but no-one minds. The first patient smiles cheerfully as he goes through an airport style search with his little son. First the metal detector, then a thorough pat down by an ANA soldier. He is seen in the clinic and given medicine provided by a charity. Dur Mohammad says, “Most of the patients come with headaches, pains in the stomach, eye complaints, skin complaints. The children have worms and get diarrhoea in the hot weather. We can also perform minor surgery.”

Dur Mohammad became a Mujahideen to fight against a foreign invader. When asked why he now works with the ISAF forces he says: “I joined the army to serve my country. This is different. We are working together for the good of Afghanistan. It’s a really good job. I am happy to help our people”.

Photos: Wg Cdr Steve Dargan/MOD

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Life as a frontline medic in Afghanistan

Lance Corporal (LCpl) Michael 'Doc' McLoughlin is a medic with the Royal Army Medical Corps attached to The Royal Dragoon Guards. He is currently serving with a ground holding unit on the frontline against the Taliban in the southern district of Nad-e-Ali. The patrol base was seized as part of operation Moshtarak early in the year.



LCpl McLoughlin (22) from Manchester is the first line of medical support for the soldiers of C Squadron Royal Dragoon Guards who are currently operating as an infantry unit for their six-month tour of Afghanistan. The patrol base is some two kilometres from other ISAF locations. It regularly comes under fire from insurgents, as do the soldiers who patrol the surrounding area to provide protection and security for the local villagers.

"As a medic within the infantry, I'm an infantry soldier when I'm out on the ground, but I carry a lot of medical equipment, in case my trade is needed. So I'm kind of dual traded in a way. I do their job, but I also do the trade of my own," said LCpl McLoughlin.

As a frontline medic, LCpl McLoughlin spends most of his time out on patrol. It is his job to provide the immediate life saving first aid to soldiers if the worst should happen. This can include administering any fluids and pain relief required until the Medical Emergency Response Team are able to extract the casualty by helicopter. Each of the soldiers he serves alongside is also medically trained, but his specialist knowledge and equipment provide that extra support.

Inside the patrol base, he is the expert for routine medical problems. He comments, "The lads do come to me a lot and ask for basics such as sunscreen, can you look at my feet, or I've got an itch; just little things. I'm also there as a shoulder if needs be, to talk things through."

In addition to working with British forces, LCpl McLoughlin now spends some of his time teaching the Afghan National Police (ANP) attached to the patrol base in the basics of first aid. This is part of ISAF's increasing role to partner with the Afghan security forces as well as mentoring them.

He comments, "Every person gets skills fade, so we teach them (the ANP) to refresh their skills - everything from putting on a tourniquet to assembling a stretcher. Anything that will allow them to help themselves if ISAF isn't there. They now have the skills from our knowledge to save their lives."