The Barbados Defence Force launches its
Field Medical Facility Type 1
BDF Media Release | 28 JUN 18
Photography credit: Corporal Maynard D
The Barbados Defence Force has increased its capacity to respond to natural disasters through the development of a field mobile facility.
The donation came through a long-standing partnership between the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO), the World Health Organisation (WHO) and National stakeholders.
Dr Godfrey Xuereb, PAHO and WHO representative for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, stated that the aim is to foster a joint effort between the Barbados Defence Force, the Ministry of Health and Wellness, PAHO and WHO, with the establishment of the first such facility in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.
Col G Grannum and Dr G Xuereb shaking hands signifying the handover of the BDF’s Field Medical Facilty
Lt Col (ret’d) Jeffrey Bostic, Minister of Health and Wellness, receiving a blood pressure test during the Field Medical Facility tour.
Deployment of the field mobile facility in the Eastern Caribbean can be done with support from partners such as CDEMA and the RSS. This will enable PAHO and other medical related partners to lend support during a disaster where either the main health facilities are not fully functional, or if there is a need to increase medical capacity at the main health facility or to deploy in areas which do not have easy access to the main health facility.
The field mobile facility is envisioned to support the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and be accredited as a Field Emergency Medical Facility (Type 1) within the PAHO/WHO system and will have logistical and standard medical requirements to treat at least 40 patients, with future expansion to include surgical procedures and additional beds.
The Barbados Defence Force is ever focused to its humanitarian assistance and disaster response commitment, while endeavoring to upgrade the current facility to a Type 2 capacity.
Commodore (Cdre) Errington Ricardo Shurland was appointed Chief of Staff of the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) on 1 September 2021. He enlisted in the BDF in February 1984 and in a military career spanning over 34 years, has served in various operational and administrative appointments.
Colonel Glyne Grannum joined the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) on 18 October 1985 and underwent career development training at the Canadian Forces Officer Candidate School, Chilliwack and the Combat Training Centre, Gagetown New Brunswick, Canada. He subsequently attended the Infantry Training Centre and the Signal Wing in Warminster, UK (PCBC and RSO Courses respectively), the International Institute of Humanitarian Law in San Remo, Italy; the Lester Pearson Canadian Peacekeeping Centre, the Canadian Land Forces Command and Staff College, Kingston, the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College, Toronto, the National Defence University of the People’s Liberation Army People’s Republic of China and the Centre for Hemispheric Defence Studies, National Defence University, Washington. He also attended a Defence Resources Management programme at National Defence Headquarters, Ottawa, Canada. In addition to being a qualified infantry officer, Col Grannum is a qualified Regimental Signals Officer and a former Operations Officer and Finance Officer of the BDF.
Colonel Banfield joined the Barbados Battalion of the South Caribbean Force in 1941 having just left the Cadet Corps at Combermere School, and was granted a commission as a Second Lieutenant in 1942. He was a Platoon Commander and a Company Commander during the war and served in Barbados, Dominica (as part of the Gale Force), St Lucia and St Vincent.
Warrant Officer Class 1 Colin Marshall is a graduate of the St Michael, and was born on the 5 November 1969 and enlisted in the Barbados Defence Force on 16 August 1994. He was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal in August 1997, Corporal in 1999, Sergeant in 2007, Color Sergeant in 2014, Warrant Officer Class Two in 2017 and Warrant Officer Class One in 2020. He was Most Outstanding Student on Junior Leadership Course in 1998, the Most Outstanding Student on Junior Non Commissioned Officer Cadre in Jamaica in 2000, best at Leadership on the Search Adviser Course in Jamaica in 2007 and the Most Outstanding Student on the Warrant Officer Course in Jamaica in 2015.
