Training Essential for BDF FMF Doctors & Nurses
BDF Media Release| 19 June 19
Photography credit: Lieutenant S Gollop
Continuous training for doctors and nurses in the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) Field Medical Facility) has been flagged as one of the critical factors that needs to be in place for its continued success. Emergency Room Specialist in Barbados, Dr. Hiliary Moore, singled out this fact after acting in the role of Clinical Director in charge of the FMF on day one of the Facility’s participation during Exercise Tradewinds 2019 (EX TW19) in St. Vincent and the Grenadines yesterday.
“A Field Medical Facility involves a lot of training…we have gone into our special niches with time and with years, but we need to understand this encompasses many different things,” she said. Using herself as an example, Dr. Moore said she did not generally manage matters related to hypertension, but in a FMF setting, persons would likely present with uncontrolled blood pressure. “So we all need to know what are the basic things to manage hypertension.”
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Dr. Moore added that persons in the medical area also needed to be able to offer some form of psychological support when treating patients when deploying to disaster areas to treat to their emotional and mental needs. “Imagine somebody who can’t find their family; they can’t find their friends; they don’t know what happened; they could have been in an area where their roof dropped in on them; it is traumatic. “[So], It is important that everybody in the medical area is able to do some kind of psychological support also because even if you have psychologists they will not be enough for the psychological component of any disaster,” she said.
However, that training requirement also extends to the area of equipment. Dr. Moore said that they wanted to move towards using hand-held ultra sound machines in the Type One Facility, or portable ultra sound machines which are used for obstetrics and generally. She explained this may become necessary as patients in the aftermath of a disaster may suffer from malnutrition having not eaten or drank anything for days. “So even if you want to set-up a line, you would need to be able to see them. Some of us are already trained [in what to do] and we hope to train more so we could have IV (intra venous) access so we can replenish fluids in people that need it urgently,” the Emergency Room Specialist noted.
Highlights
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.
