ECHO
Four members of the Medical Team L to R-Tpr

Richard Fitzgerald, Cpl Frank Noonan, Capt Eugene O'Connor, Cpl Pierce Foley.
A Defence Forces medical team departed to the UK this morning to link up with a Joint Inter Agency Task Force set up to assist the international response to the Ebola crisis in West Africa. Following intensive training in the UK the medical team will deploy to Sierra Leone in the coming weeks.

Five Defence Forces medical personnel will support a UK Armed Forces Treatment Unit in Kerrytown, Sierra Leone. This facility provides international standard Ebola Virus Disease treatment to Healthcare Workers who are providing care to Ebola victims.

The Defence Forces medical team consists of a Military Doctor, three medical Non-Commissioned Officers and a medically qualified Trooper. The team will conduct initial training in Aldershot Barracks in the UK where they will receive Mission Briefings, Treatment protocol training and Personal Protective Equipment training with the Task Force.

The Defence Forces team are expected to arrive in Sierra Leone on the 15th of January for a three month tour of duty.