Greater Manchester medics return from Afghanistan

Medics from Greater Manchester who spent four months tending the wounded in Afghanistan have returned home.

The 44 men and women in 207 Manchester Field Hospital, based in Stretford, headed to the British Military Hospital in Camp Bastion in October.

The unit is made up of Territorial Army volunteers who usually work as doctors, nurses and paramedics in hospitals across the north-west of England.

They were welcomed home by their families on Monday.

Colonel Robin Jackson, commanding officer, said he was "immensely proud" of the team.

'Skills and drills'

He said: "They are people who have gone the extra mile for Queen and country.

"I am immensely proud of what they have done over the last four months, giving the treatment that our injured servicemen deserve, with the best equipment in the world, the best training, and they have done an absolutely wonderful job."

He added: "We are quite capable of coping with whatever comes our way, and of course we don't know until a few minutes beforehand what exactly is going to come our way.

"We have to react quickly to that and that's where the skills and drills come in."

The hospital is the busiest trauma hospital in Afghanistan and takes over 60% of all casualties in the Regional Command (South West), which includes Helmand Province.

207 Manchester Field Hospital is one of 11 TA units whose main role is to provide medical support to UK Forces on operations overseas.