A tent city greets you when you arrive in the port area of the Gothenburg garrison. When everything is finished, these tents will cover an area the size of five football pitches. One of these soccer pitches relates to the medical section and the remaining four to the logistics section.
“When we started at the end of January, we were 16 in number, now we are 67,” says Krister Jakobsson, who is the Commander of the First Hospital Company, as it is known. By the end of the year we will be 107 employees, and then fully staffed before NBG 15, which is our first major assignment.
While under preparedness in NBG 15, this company will have the capacity to perform six operations a day, they have eight Intensive care places and 32 ward beds for minor injures and the sick. The level is called ROLE 2E and can be compared more to a hospital and therefore does not have the capability to move itself.
“When we move out from the Gothenburg garrison there will be 110 flatbeds. This can be compared with about 40 articulated lorries, so of course, we face a logistical challenge,” continues Krister Jakobsson.
Everyone must wear blue shoe covers when entering the tents in order to prevent soiling and destroying the tents, which are very valuable. The entire hospital is modular, meaning that it is possible to build smaller units or larger units, as required. New material is delivered all the time, which is then set up, tested and evaluated.
“The hospital takes 48 hours to erect from the time the material arrives on site, but in practice we can start to operate after only eight hours,” says Krister Jakobsson.
The company is divided into four platoons, staff platoon, surgery platoon, care platoon and logistics platoon. Added to this are a quartermaster, a chief engineer and an HR generalist. Some other categories of staff include: surgeons, ICU nurses, anaesthetic nurses, dentists, psychiatrists, pharmacists, mechanics, storemen, electricians, plumbers, IT technicians, soldiers, and others.
“Above all we still need to recruit health-care professionals. We have hired soldiers from the basic military training that was completed in the autumn specialising in hospital companies,” says Krister Jakobsson.