Ministry of Defence
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Keeping cool on the front line
Medics and logistics staff who are supporting UK front line operations are to benefit from the introduction of a high-tech, purpose-built temperature controlled medical storage facility thanks to a multimillion pound investment by the MOD.
Designed for extremes of environment, the Bulk Medical Storage Facility (BMSF) is a £3M, four-year contract which will provide secure storage for medical materiel at deep frozen, refrigerated and ambient temperatures simultaneously, even when external temperatures rise as high as +58C or drop to -26C. The contract will also provide 88 man-portable refrigerator systems that can be taken closer to front line operations and will keep blood products at +4C.
Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Quentin Davies, said:
"Our Defence Medical Services are amongst the finest in the world and this equipment will support them in their demanding work. The delivery of the BMSF and the man-portable refrigerator units will see a step-change in the ability to project medical materiel and blood products far forward in the Joint Support Chain, even to the front line, and for those consignments to remain viable for use in the treatment of injured personnel on operations.
"This enhanced capability will be fundamental to our ability to support UK military and civilian personnel on active service throughout the world."
Each BMSF is based on 20ft ISO containers with on-board power generation and a capability to "hook up" to expeditionary infrastructure power supplies. The systems will then be deployed to military medical staff at forward field hospitals.
The 88 man-portable refrigerators are fitted with sophisticated temperature loggers which use laptops to record data to enable stocks of medical materiel to be maintained indefinitely whilst powered from a range of sources.
Major Stephen Smedley, the MoD Responsible Person for Blood, said:
"The new man-portable refrigerators are an essential requirement to allow us to continue to supply blood in support of UK Forces worldwide and these refrigerators significantly enhance this capability on the front line."
The first BMSF prototype will begin user-trials in August of this year with the remainder to be supplied over the next nine months. The BMSF will be manufactured in Peterborough by General Dynamics UK, who will also supply the man-portable refrigerators as part of a larger contract that is providing other elements of an overall temperature-controlled medical storage capability to front line forces.
Major Tracey Dreelan MBE RLC, Officer Commanding 84 Medical Supply Squadron RLC, who will take delivery of these units, said:
"The Bulk Medical Storage Facility represents an excellent capability for storage of medical supplies on operations. Designed specifically to provide secure storage solutions for frozen, chilled and ambient medical supplies it offers considerable flexibility on where and how it can be deployed."
Notes to Editors:
1. The Cold Chain Capability programme is managed by Defence Equipment and Support's Medical & General Supplies Team. MoD Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) buys and supports all the equipment used by the Armed Forces and supports all current operations including Iraq and Afghanistan - a hugely important task. Continued support for operations now and in the future remains paramount.
2. The contract with is for an initial four years and is to the value of £2.9M, with a further £1M in-service costs. The manufacture of the BMSF will secure eight posts at the General Dynamics UK factory in Peterborough until May 2010.
3. The BMSF affords the MoD the capability of moving significant quantities of blood (Red cell Concentrate), and blood components (Specifically Fresh Frozen Plasma and Cryoprecipitate) in one shipment in a controlled environment that ensures the blood and blood components are suitable for immediate use. This is a significant enhancement to the UK's expeditionary capability.
4. The man-portable refrigerators will be supplied to the MoD by General Dynamics UK. They are manufactured in Luxembourg by Dometic and will replace the currently used Thermopols which have been in-service since the early 1990's. The Dometic RCB42P allows the movement of up to 30 units of blood. The blood can be safely stored at the correct temperature anywhere where there is a power supply and for up to eight hours without power.
