#6 UK | How do you prepare for a global pandemic? | Fancy a Brew?
Join our five guests as they talk about the role of the Armed Forces in response to the COVID-19 pandemic both at home and abroad in the latest episode of our podcast, Fancy a Brew?
☕️ It’s podcast time!
Grab yourself a brew and join Lieutenant General Sir Tyrone Urch, Lieutenant Jonathan, Lance Corporal Dirgha, Lieutenant Fabian and Flying Officer Eleanor and learn more about what life is like on Operation RESCRIPT.
Haven’t listened to the episode yet? Make sure to tune in here:👇
What is Operation RESCRIPT?
Operation RESCRIPT is the codename for the military response to COVID-19 in the UK. It is the biggest ever homeland military operation in peacetime.
On 23 March 2020, the UK went into a national lockdown to suppress the threat of COVID-19. What most people don’t know is that planning for the pandemic began a lot before this date under the name Operation RESCRIPT. From testing to driving ambulances to administering vaccines, the Armed Forces have played a crucial role in the UK’s response to the pandemic.
Take a look at some memorable moments from the latest episode:👇
When did planning for the COVID-19 pandemic begin?
Lt Gen Ty Urch: “When did COVID start? About the third week of March, when actually the lockdown started, that’s when everyone thinks that COVID started, but actually, it started on 28 January last year.
“Defence is not here to run anything and do anything itself, so we don’t do anything by ourselves other than go on operations and fight wars, but anything we do in this country is always in support of another government department. And in this case, it’s the Department of Health and Social Care.
“We stood up 20,000 people from across Defence: Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and the British Army in order to get on and help, to really do something. I was asked what are these 20,000 people going to do? I said I haven’t got a clue. Did we have a COVID plan on the shelf that we were going to pull down and open up? No, no clue, no idea whatsoever.
“What we did have, which was really quite clever, was a flu pandemic plan. We knew that flu is one of the number one risks on the government’s risk register. So what do we do, we took down the flu pandemic plan, opened that up and thought, COVID-19 is not a flu pandemic, but it’s a good start. And probably it was a 70% start in where we were going.
What was your biggest challenge you have faced during the pandemic?
Lt Jonathan: “In the schools where we were testing, we were just trying to minimise disruption as much as possible and my experience is that schools want you in and out as quick as you can.
“I was really fortunate to have a really highly motivated team of 22 guys. And in our day jobs, I think we’ve seen systems that can be changed but it’s a big organisation, it’s very difficult to do that, whereas I had 22 brains on the ground who were all seeing little changes that we could just enact and so that was really rewarding.
LCpl Dirgha: “A challenge that I faced was more of in terms of dealing with losses, because we would have one-to-one contact with patients, and some of them are quite cognitive, so we were able to have conversations. There were a few patients that I’ve had conversations with that their health rapidly deteriorated over a short span of time, and it was quite disheartening to see that and know that some of the patients that you were talking to one day would not be there on the bed spaces the next day.
“And that was a very emotionally challenging aspect for me. The way we got around dealing with this is that we tend to talk about it, just so that we can get it off our shoulders. The six people in my team, we were constantly talking about it, trying to get to terms with it.
What were your first impressions working on Operation RESCRIPT?
Flying Officer Ellie: “I was a bit nervous, and didn’t really know what to expect, and I was able to have that reassurance of what to expect upon arrival, so I wasn’t going into it completely blind thankfully.
“Once we arrived there and actually met each other and realised what it is and what we were doing, nerves started to calm down a bit, as it became a lot clearer, and it was just that getting to know each other piece really, because for me, I’m a Flight Commander but my flight is very small. I have less than 10 in my flight, so me being a leader of a group of 25 was something completely new to me.
Lt Fabian: “I’ve been working up in Scotland where we came in to assist with the National Planning Support team and the Local Planning Support teams within health boards to deliver both planned and time lined execution of delivery of vaccinations throughout the country.
“As much as vaccinations are very straightforward and once you’ve gotten good at them, you do it consistently and quite rapidly with lovely personal bedside manner, it’s also important to understand what reactions people can have, how nervous people might seem, making sure that you’re both encouraging as well as reassuring because it can be a point of difference for some people when you’re getting a vaccination from somebody in uniform, and you’re in a massive hall and everything’s very methodical and a step-by-step process.”
“You put your finger down right on the heart of what we do in the military, because this is a personal game we’re in, this is what we do. Combat is visceral, it’s frightening, it’s bloody. And we’re finding that in UK Operations, we’re coming across all sorts of new emotional challenges that perhaps we weren’t really expecting. First and foremost, talk to your peer group, talk to your friends, talk to your family.”
— Lieutenant General Sir Tyrone Urch
