Royal Navy Medics Join American Humanitarian Mission

Royal Navy Medical Services Medical Assistant Chelsea Smith prepares to draw blood from a patient aboard the hospital ship USNS Comfort (Picture: Royal Navy).

A team of Royal Navy medics have joined an American humanitarian mission to South America, in the wake of the Venezuela migrant crisis, providing health care to those in need.

Three medics, Lieutenant Commander Mark Beswick, Chief Petty Officer (Naval Nurse) Stephen Brazier and Medical Assistant Chelsea Smith, are working side-by-side with hundreds of American personnel embarked on the huge hospital ship USNS Comfort throughout Enduring Promise 18.

The team joined the ship in Panama and transited through the Panama Canal on-route to their first mission stop in Turbo, Columbia.

The aim is to offer medical aid to stretched communities, in this case in Central and South America, where hospitals and doctors’ surgeries are struggling to cope with high numbers of patients, due in part to large numbers of migrants crossing the borders.

2018 marks the sixth incarnation of America's relief mission by the giant hospital ship which has offered some form of healthcare to nearly 400,000 people in the Americas on previous deployments.

For Enduring Promise 18, more than 200 military doctors, nurses and technicians have embarked from a plethora of nations including Honduras, Portugal, Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile and Canada.

As well as the military contingent a number of medical and dental professional volunteers from non-governmental organisations have also participated.

Lieutenant Commander Beswick, a Medical Services Officer at Naval Headquarters in Portsmouth, has been responsible for building relationships with the Ministry of Health, Military and volunteer organisations ashore at medical site locations.

Lt Cdr Beswick commented on the deployment:

“The deployment so far has been incredibly rewarding where we are witnessing first-hand the incredible differences we are making to people’s lives as well as relieving pressure on local health services.”

During treatment days, his primary function is to control the flow of patients coming through the site, maximising patient numbers without overwhelming the system.

Along with the 131 surgeries, a total of 5,450 patients were seen over a five-day period in Turbo.

In-between mission stops in Turbo and Riohacha, Columbia, the team celebrated Thanksgiving with their American colleagues.

The Royal Navy team will stay with Comfort for their next two mission stops in Riohacha and Honduras before arriving in Norfolk later this month.