Medics Army Challenge

Medical care military style was the order of the day for staff from hospitals in Manchester.

Soldiers from a British Army field hospital unit organised a weekend of fun, albeit at times energy-sapping, activities for their counterparts in civilian hospitals.

It was part of a drive to help civilian healthcare professionals gain a better understanding of the first-class medical care afforded to soldiers serving on operations.

207 (Manchester) Field Hospital (Volunteers), which organised the event, is staffed mostly by Territorial Army personnel.  The majority of its men and women work in civilian life in the same NHS hospitals and allied healthcare organisations, but then give up their spare time to serve as paid, part-time soldiers.  They deploy on operations to provide the full range of medical support to our soldiers – and often save lives.  207 has bases in Stretford, Ashton-under-Lyne, Stockport, Blackburn and Bury.

Teams from University of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust in Wythenshawe and North Manchester General Hospital in Crumpsall swapped the wards of their hospitals for the fields and ranges of Altcar military training camp in Merseyside for a weekend of Army-themed activities designed to test brain and brawn, as well as encourage teamwork and leadership.

A spokesman for the Army in the north west said:  “The hospital challenge offers an ideal opportunity to show NHS staff and employers what we do in our field hospitals, as well as giving the hospital staff a chance to have some fun in a different environment.  The activities stretched both their bodies and their imaginations.”

A team from University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust carry a casualty (or some heavy drums in this case!) from the battlefield.