MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
News Release (073/2009) issued by COI News Distribution Service on
14 April 2009
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.