The latest troop contingent have recently arrived in South Sudan to support the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
The Vietnamese Hospital Unit has deployed to Bentiu, South Sudan where they will take over the running of the Role 2 Hospital from the current incumbents: the Royal Air Force Medical Service. A team of some 30 medics from the RAF has been deployed as part of Operation TRENTON since July 2018 and is now coming to the end of their tenure.
The UK manned UN field hospital was initially established early in 2017 and has provided medical care to over 1800 UN military personnel and civilian staff. The Vietnamese Hospital Unit has now arrived and is currently receiving an extensive handover from their UK counterparts who have over 12 months of experience working not only in South Sudan but also in UNMISS.
Squadron Leader Scott Fitzgerald, Officer Commanding of the RAF led Role 2 Hospital said: “We have had a great time sharing our experiences and clinical knowledge with the Vietnamese medics since they arrived in South Sudan, and have been able to highlight opportunities and challenges about the environment that we have worked in.”
As part of the handover members of the RAF Hospital conducted training for the Vietnamese as they arrived in the country’s capital, Juba. “We wanted to give them some examples and show the environment that they will be working in to give them the best possible start” Sqn Ldr Fitzgerald explained. “Heads of the department from the UK are working closely with their Vietnamese counterparts to go through a mentoring and training programme to ensure that we pass on our experiences of working with the UN.”
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In the near future, the Vietnamese Hospital Unit will move from their temporary tented hospital into a new, permanent, bespoke Level 2 Hospital which the UK Engineer Task Force have built during 2018. Captain Tom Bolitho, Second in Command of Bentiu Engineering group said: ‘the hospital is now over 85% complete and we are awaiting the final resources to be able to complete the project as soon as possible. The new hospital provides the same level of medical and clinical care as any level 2 facility anywhere else in the world.’
Lt Col Thian, Commanding Officer of the Vietnamese Level 2 Hospital said: ‘the UK has supported us very much; they have sent experts to Vietnam and have shown us many things such as how to prepare and run a field hospital. They have assisted in providing us with accommodation and helping with our cargo and we are very thankful for their help.’