Nurse serves in Afghanistan

A NURSE from Warrington is in Afghanistan working in the busiest trauma hospital in the world.
Territorial Army soldier Captain Celia Hill, 54, (pictured) usually works as a paediatric nurse based in Warrington Hospital’s accident and emergency department.
But the grandmother is currently serving with 208 Field Hospital (Volunteers) which has just taken command of the British Military Hospital at Camp Bastion and will run it for the next three months.Celia, who has two children and whose second grandchild will be born while she is in Afghanistan, is the only healthcare professional from Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust who is in the Territorial Army Medical Services.
She said: “This is my third tour of Afghanistan in four years. Normally the Army wouldn’t ask us to deploy more than once every three years, but I feel very strongly that my sacrifice is small in comparison to that made by our soldiers who fight on the front-line.
“Our soldiers and the innocent Afghan civilians that we treat deserve the best and I would recommend the experience to any registered nurse or healthcare assistant.”
One of 11 TA field hospitals in the British Army, 208 Field Hospital has centres in Liverpool, Blackpool, Ellesmere Port and Lancaster.
Its Commanding Officer, Colonel Peter Jackson, said: “This is the second time in four years that Liverpool based 208 Field Hospital has been awarded the privilege of running the hospital at Camp Bastion. This time we will be managing a multi-national medical team which includes American and Danish medics.
“All of my key clinical departments will be run by Territorial Army clinicians who normally work in a like-for-like job in local NHS hospitals. It is a partnership which works well for both the Army and the NHS and we are extremely grateful for the public’s continued support.”