MJ Roberts, MA Fox, C Hamilton-Davies, S Dowson. OP TELIC - The Experience Of The Intensive Care Unit In A British Army Field Hospital During The 2003 Gulf Conflict.

Over the last few years the Surgeon General’s Department has overseen a major update in equipment scales for medical units in the field; anaesthesia and intensive care. This is to meet the aspiration of the Defence Chiefs, that injured servicemen on active service should receive the same standard of care as available in the United Kingdom. This paper discusses the experiences of the Intensive Care Unit operating within a Field Hospital both during the initial war fighting phase and subsequent peace keeping phase of the 2003 Gulf conflict (OP TELIC). Observations are made on patient activity, treatment strategy, and equipment adequacy. Introduction Since the first Gulf War in 1991 the doctrine of the Army Medical Services (AMS) has adapted to the change from cold war planning, to support for military operations of a more expeditionary nature. The most significant development is the declaration by the defence chiefs that servicemen, ill or injured, should wherever possible, be offered medical care to a standard equal to that which they would receive in the United Kingdom in peacetime (1).To that end, there has been an increased willingness to expend significant resources on the management of the critically ill and injured; casualties who, by necessity, would have previously been treated expectantly on the battlefields of North West Europe. Over the last few years the Surgeon General’s Department has overseen a major update in equipment scales for medical units in the field; anaesthesia and intensive care being two areas where there have been the most significant developments. These developments have impacted on recent peace support operations, as in the Balkans, but the 2003 Gulf conflict (Operation TELIC) was the first major operation with the potential for significant numbers of war casualties to test these developments in doctrine and equipment. This paper describes the experience of the intensive care unit of 202 Field Hospital, during the period of conflict, 18 March to 30 April 2003, and outlines the challenges presented when operating in an environmentally and militarily hostile environment. By way of comparison some data from the immediate post conflict period, 1st May to 20th July 2003, will be presented.