The Welsh Secretary has written to the head of the Army in
Wales to thank him for the support provided by the UK Armed
Forces across the country in the continued fight against
coronavirus.
wrote to Brigadier
Andrew Dawes CBE, Commander of 160th (Welsh) Brigade this
week to commend the Armed Forces for their work in tackling
the pandemic. Full-time soldiers and Reservists have been
deployed in a variety of roles across Wales at the request
of the civilian authorities to support different parts of
the response to the coronavirus emergency.
The deployments have included driving and decontaminating
ambulances for the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust
(WAST), building beds in Ysbyty Calon Y Ddraig (the
Dragon’s Heart Hospital) and advising and assisting NHS
Wales to distribute essential PPE to frontline staff.
The Armed Forces have also helped set up dozens of testing
centres across Great Britain, including in Llandudno.
Soldiers are now collecting swabs for critical workers in
Mobile Testing Units across Wales, helping to rapidly
expand the UK’s testing capability.
Secretary of State for Wales Simon Hart said:
The UK’s Armed Forces are providing crucial support to
our NHS, Welsh Ambulance Service and social care workers,
helping critical care to continue across Wales.
Their continued efforts, alongside that of our
extraordinary key workers, is testament to their selfless
commitment to our country. I would like to extend my
thanks to the Armed Forces personnel, and those they are
working alongside, who are doing incredible work to keep
our country going during these difficult times.
The support our soldiers and Reservists have provided in
Wales shows, once again, that we are better tackling the
coronavirus united across the four nations of the UK and
making the best use of our shared resources.
Minister for the Armed Forces :
Our Armed Forces are proud to continue to work alongside
the emergency services, local councils and the NHS to
support communities across Wales.
From testing, to distributing PPE to driving ambulances,
our Armed Forces are demonstrating their versatility,
expertise and willingness to assist in whatever way the
people of Wales need.
Armed forces support to tackle COVID-19 in Wales includes:
Welsh Ambulance Service
The Army has boosted its support to the Welsh Ambulance
Services NHS Trust (WAST). A deployment of 30 soldiers have
been trained in ambulance decontamination, in addition to
the initial 60 tasked with driving ambulances at the
beginning of April.
British Army provides logistics advice to NHS Wales
A logistics specialist supply team from The 4th Regiment,
Royal Logistics Corp of the British Army has been deployed
to assist NHS Wales in PPE distribution. The 30-person
strong team has helped refine the essential equipment’s
distribution over 16 hospitals across seven regional health
boards by providing logistical advice and training
additional staff. A military mentoring and advisory team
has also been deployed to assist with distribution of
medical equipment across the country in order to best match
demand.
Military unload PPE flown into Cardiff airport
Around 30 Reservists from 3 Royal Welsh unloaded vital
supplies of PPE that was flown into Cardiff airport from
Cambodia and China. The Reservists were on hand to unload 2
million pieces of PPE for use by frontline health and care
workers in Wales.
Oxygen distribution
A military assistance team to assess vacuum insulated
evaporator systems across NHS Wales to ensure oxygen
supplies are where they are needed. Soldiers from each of
the three services were trained to drive oxygen tankers at
the Air Products facility in Port Talbot in order to
support the NHS.
Planning
Military planning and liaison personnel have deployed
across Wales, including at the Welsh Government’s Emergency
Coordination Centre in Cardiff, the four Local Resilience
Fora and the seven Local Health Boards.
Development of field hospitals and testing sites
Military Assessment Teams have supported the NHS in Wales’
development of field hospitals, including at the
Principality Stadium in Cardiff. There are also a total of
seven testing centres across Wales involving military
personnel as well as an increasing number of Mobile Testing
Units.
