As a relatively new member of UK EMT I was pleased and excited to get a place on Simex19. I packed light (as instructed), swatted up on all the relevant SOP’s to my role and waited for further instruction.
The day before Simex I received a text that UK EMT has received confirmation of a deployment in response to a storm system affecting the country of Mas- I had been activated to deploy. Advised to prepare my documents and let work and family know.
How would I feel if this was real? A question I was to ask myself many times over the next few days.
I met my fellow team mates at the rendezvous point- 25 nurses, doctors, theatre staff, midwives, ambulance practitioners and physiotherapists. Just enough time to make our introductions and allocate roles for our arrival for the field hospital.
The next few days were to be an amazing learning experience. As with all the best learning experiences I learnt things I didn’t know I needed to know. Documentation, the practicalities of feeding patients and their relatives, staying hydrated even though I was worried about having to evacuate if a local dam burst, comfortable shoes and being careful about manual handling in the field hospital. All important stuff, but maybe not what I’d immediately be thinking about when deployed.
I found the exercise invaluable. And one of the best parts was meeting other members of the UK EMT register- all of whom I’d be happy to be deployed with.
Thank you UK-Med for planning and running the Simex, I feel I have a better understanding of the process of deployment, the set up and equipment of the field hospital, and the all-important human factors.
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