The Barbados Defence Force’s Field Medical Team (BDF FMT) is seeking volunteers from various professions to join its “family”.
Executive Officer of the BDF FMT, Lieutenant (Coast Guard) Anderson Goodridge, said a call was going out for nurses, doctors, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, anaesthetists, laboratory technicians, sterilisation technicians, and anyone with an interest to join the FMT family.
He made this appeal during a press conference where the facility is presently erected at the National Stadium, in preparation for its verification to be classified as a Type 2 general hospital.
Lieutenant (Coast Guard) Goodridge said there were approximately 189 volunteers in the BDF FMT, and an additional 45 had recently joined. However, he said there was no set number of volunteers and persons were encouraged to join the facility as it seeks to build out its numbers in preparation for its Type 2 verification.
He explained persons seeking to become members should be 18 years and over and complete an application form. They will also be required to submit a police certificate of character, their identification card, the biodata page of their passport, technical and professional certificates, and a driver’s licence.
The Executive Officer stated that persons will also be required to attend training on the last weekend of every month. “The training repeats itself. What is done on Saturday is repeated on Sunday,” he said, explaining that only one training day was required.
He added that training would be diverse and include things such as disaster management and basic life support.
Meanwhile, Facilities Manager, Major David Binks, said that the Type 2 general hospital consisted of just under 50 tents, catered to 100 outpatients, and contained 48 beds for surgery and obstetrics.
“When we deploy, we are to deploy totally self-sufficient, so we carry our own food, generators, [and] equipment to purify water to medical grade. We are not supposed to put any load on the affected country whatsoever in the initial stages,” he explained.
He said deployments contained at least 160 personnel, spanning medical, administrative, general duty, cooks, storekeepers, and other areas. “[So], don’t think you have to be medical to join,” he said, noting that a deployment was for a minimum of 21 days.
Major Binks further noted that once the BDF FMT arrived in the host country, it was expected to be set up and ready to receive patients within a 48 to 72-hour period.
“If required to stay longer, we would do a team change. That is why we are looking for more members,” he said, adding that it was a 24-hour operation. Persons interested in being volunteers should call the BDF FMT headquarters at 538-4847.