Two RAF officers supporting the NHS as part of the West Midlands Vaccination Task Force have deployed to the region planning and co-ordinating requests for the Tri-Service Vaccine Quick Reaction Force team.
Flight Lieutenant (Flt Lt) Martyn Clarke, 35, from Carlisle, Cumbria, a member of No 5 Force Protection Wing based at RAF Lossiemouth, and Flight Lieutenant Rory Coatsworth, 41, of Penzance, a member of II Squadron RAF Regiment based at RAF Brize Norton, are part of a tri-service deployment in the West Midlands as part of Operation Rescript, the name given to the military operation supporting the NHS in the fight against COVID-19.
Both are under the command of the Joint Military Command, West-Midlands, and are part of the Vaccination Task Force (VTF). Flt Lt Clarke is employed as a VTF Planner and co-ordinates NHS requests for the tri-service Vaccine Quick Reaction Force (V-QRF) teams who are supporting vaccination centres across the region, while Flt Lt Coatsworth is one of two V-QRF team managers who liaise between vaccination centre head clinicians and V-QRF team leads.
The V-QRF Military Aid to Civil Authority task was stood up at the start of January this year and saw both men called in to support the effort in planning and delivery.
“The focus has been on establishing and developing key relationships with colleagues within the regional NHS structure. Working alongside NHS planners, we identify locations that our V-QRF teams could be employed to maximise vaccine delivery, freeing up much needed NHS capacity."
Flight Lieutenant Martyn Clarke
Flt Lt Coatsworth’s primary function as a V-QRF manager is to ensure that the teams are tasked appropriately, provided with real-life support and capture vital performance data from across the region. Managing a total of 36 personnel, spread over 17 counties with differing daily work locations keeps Flt Lt Coatsworth very busy.
“This is a dynamic task requiring flexibility from all involved, requests for support often come through late in the day for the following morning; and we pull out all the stops to ensure that teams are on site at the designated time.”
Flight Lieutenant Rory Coatsworth
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