Royal Navy assistance in hospitals across Greater Manchester comes to an end
manchestereveningnews.co.ukSailors have been helping to ease the pressure on NHS staff in Greater Manchester over the past five weeks Four dozen sailors from destroyer HMS Duncan and Portsmouth and Devonport Naval Bases were mobilised as part of Operation Rescript – the military response to the Covid pandemic.
They focused their efforts in five NHS trusts in Wigan, Bolton, Oldham, Salford and Stockport – collectively responsible for the health of more than 1.4 million people. READ MORE: Why would Russia invade Ukraine? - A simple explanation of the crisis in Eastern Europe They have been on the wards since January 20, but with Covid numbers falling and winter coming to an end, the assistance is stopping this week, formally coming to an end on Friday, February 25.
The sailors have performed basic tasks and duties – freeing up trained medical staff for pure clinical tasks. Among the sailors assigned to Wigan’s Royal Albert Edward Infirmary – the largest in the Wrightington, Wigan, and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – is Able Seaman George Stevens, fresh out of training at HMS Collingwood in Fareham, Hampshire.
He and his colleagues were tasked with numerous jobs around the hospital such as making beds, serving meals, moving patients around, assisting in the pharmacy and more, but the experience has proved rewarding for sailors and patients.
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