[Quote=Michael Yon]
A gunshot ripped through the darkness and a young British soldier fell dying on FOB Jackson. I was just nearby talking on the satellite phone and saw the commotion. The soldier was taken to the medical tent and a helicopter lifted him to the excellent trauma center at Camp Bastion. That he made it to Camp Bastion alive dramatically improved his chances. But his life teetered and was in danger of slipping away. Making matters worse, the British medical system back in the United Kingdom did not possess the specialized gear needed to save his life. Americans had the right gear in Germany, and so the British soldier was put into the American system.
[/quote]
I went to the site but didn’t see any expansion on this theme. Is there something unusual about this man’s gunshot wound, or are they saying the British medical system really lacks the ability to treat gunshot wounds?
I’m just doubtful because “The British medical system is bad” is a current political talking point pushed out by the Republican Party here, and it’s just sort of left unexplained in the article, like it’s so obvious it needs no explanation.
There are no military hospitals left in this country*. They’ve closed them all, and told them to wait in line with the rest of the population.
*and no, Birmingham Selly Oak is just a wing inside the civilian hospital
In addition to specialized equipment it required a specialized surgical teamto fly in and stabilize him in addition to a 2nd flight crew for the C-17 that was diverted for the mission.
British army surgeons have recently called in US help in Afghanistan because they were overwhelmed. You can drag politics into it but crap happens. We have a military tradition of taking care of our own and in this case it was a close ally.
I will say that, on a logistics level, the United States probably has more resources available.
Regardless of the political intent or otherwise of the article, I’d like to express thanks as a Brit that such care was afforded from our ally.
I’d also like to express disgust at the treatment in the UK of some of our wounded forces - an MOD decision and thus abstracted from the overall NHS debate (which doesn’t seem to have relevance here, Magiver).
the soldier is not named. He is described both as ‘recovering in the United Kingdom’ and ‘remains in Germany where his condition is stable’
the treatment was in a German University hospital
no explanation or cite is given to explain why the UK system couldn’t treat him
the event is described as ‘a thousand miracles’
there is an appeal for money for the reporter at the end (and the organisation that issued the press release):
“I cannot operate in the war without your support. If support does not substantially increase, I will be forced to abandon war reporting in September. There has seldom been much interest in the Afghanistan war. True interest has been starkly reflected in the support for this mission. Each journey into Afghanistan, since 2006, has bled out resources from my operations. Reporting from Afghanistan is not sustainable at this rate.”
Unless more facts are forthcoming, this could easily be a US religious right propaganda story.
Shit, you got us there without a plan to get out, in the first place - it’s the least you could do to help out. I don’t see why anyone should be thanking the US military for it.
I don’t want to say it, but given the current debate in the USA and the level of misinformation and plain lies told about the NHS, it’s worth considering that this is propaganda.
I’m sorry if sounds mean but after the completely fake story about how Steven Hawkin would have died if left to the NHS . . .
Perhaps it’s also worth mentioning that the writer of this piece is not a conventional journalist:
It would be a shame if those who oppose health care reform didn’t encourage this exceptional contribution to their cause. I wonder if Michael_Yon (not Michael Yon without the underscore) thought of that.
It’s more than nice, it saved his life. As Princess Diana would tell you (if she could) medical treatment is all about the timely exercise of personnel and equipment. The UK certainly had aircraft that could transport this soldier. What they did not have was the logistics to assemble a team of specialists, divert an aircraft from another mission, and the spare crews to fly 3,000 miles to what was assessed to be the best care available. This was done in real time while the soldier was pumped full of blood.
Real time means that ithe clock was ticking and the logistics necessary to make it happen occured in a very short time span. It’s the difference between an ambulance ride to the closest facility and air transport to the best facility. It is the difference between life and death.