UK Field Hospital, Afghanistan
Camp Bastion Hospital, which lies at the centre of the British military base in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, is a world leader in trauma care.
It is a hive of activity night and day, on call to expect the most shocking casualties at any time. The hospital staff working round the clock provide care to soldiers, injured locals and even Taliban fighters, who are treated under the Geneva convention.
Some medics are even volunteers, leaving NHS jobs in the UK to spend several months on secondment in Helmand. Each medic brings a wealth of skills, from surgeons battling to save the lives of critically wounded soldiers, to specialist paediatricians who tend injured Afghan children.
Former England footballer Gary Lineker and cricket star Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff flew out to Afghanistan to present our Special Recognition award to Corporal Holly Percival, who accepted it on behalf of all of the medical staff – including the NHS volunteers – linked to Camp Bastion Hospital.
Holly, 24, a former lifeguard from Watford, Herts, swapped the swimming pool for the frontline six years ago when she joined as a combat medical technician. Talking of the time she found herself surrounded by Taliban insurgents for 26 hours, Holly says, "They were shooting at us, firing off rocket-propelled grenades and setting off explosive devices. There was just myself and another medic so, as you can imagine, we were kept very busy. "One guy lost a leg and others had blast injuries, gunshot wounds, heat injuries and broken legs. No matter what the guys fired at them, the Taliban kept returning fire, so I was having to treat them while being shot at."
Chris Ellis, 36, from Bolton, Lancashire, was working at Royal Preston Hospital when he answered a call for specialist nurses within the NHS to take three-month secondments at Camp Bastion Field Hospital. "My girlfriend was worried at first," admits Chris, "but she and my parents are very proud and I feel like I'm doing something good out here."I have no Army background at all, so it came as a bit of a shock when I arrived. We are dealing with gunshot and blast injuries, but the people we work with here are fantastic."
Gary and Freddie spent just a few days with the medics at the hospital, but were profoundly affected by what they saw. "I have a son who is 18," says Gary, "and the fact that there are kids out here that age really makes you think." Freddie adds, "I play cricket for England and in the grand scheme of things it's no big deal. I've seen things here that I've never seen in my life before. It's life-changing. "When you see it first-hand, you realise what a great job these people are doing."