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| Ebola outbreak: Government sends 30 NHS staff to help Ebola fight | |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| The first co-ordinated group of NHS staff are due to fly from London to Sierra Leone to help in the fight against the deadly Ebola virus. | |
| Around 30 GPs, nurses, psychiatrists and emergency medicine consultants are being sent to the West African country's capital, Freetown. | Around 30 GPs, nurses, psychiatrists and emergency medicine consultants are being sent to the West African country's capital, Freetown. |
| There they will complete a week's training before starting work in Ebola treatment centres across the country. | There they will complete a week's training before starting work in Ebola treatment centres across the country. |
| The Ebola virus has killed more than 5,000 people in the current outbreak. | |
| This is the first wave of NHS volunteers to be deployed by the UK government. | This is the first wave of NHS volunteers to be deployed by the UK government. |
| The healthcare professionals will be diagnosing and treating those who have contracted the virus. | The healthcare professionals will be diagnosing and treating those who have contracted the virus. |
| 'Make a difference' | 'Make a difference' |
| Donna Wood, senior sister at Haywood Hospital in Staffordshire, who is among the volunteers, said: "I'd been following the stories on the news so when I saw an email from the NHS highlighting the Ebola situation in Sierra Leone, and calling for volunteers, I felt I had to act. | |
| "I knew I could use the skills I've got to make a difference and join a team to help bring the disease under control." | "I knew I could use the skills I've got to make a difference and join a team to help bring the disease under control." |
| Ms Wood said she had received "gold standard" training. | |
| She added: "We're very lucky in this country to have the NHS, the staff and the skills - it's just not the case everywhere else. | She added: "We're very lucky in this country to have the NHS, the staff and the skills - it's just not the case everywhere else. |
| "My parents and the whole family are proud of my decision to go." | "My parents and the whole family are proud of my decision to go." |
| The NHS volunteers have been preparing for deployment with intensive training at a Ministry of Defence facility in York. | The NHS volunteers have been preparing for deployment with intensive training at a Ministry of Defence facility in York. |
| More teams of volunteers are set to leave in the coming weeks after hundreds came forward to offer their services. | More teams of volunteers are set to leave in the coming weeks after hundreds came forward to offer their services. |
| Gareth Ross, a paramedic from Yorkshire, told the BBC he had "never experienced anything like" the sense of morale and teamwork felt during the training. | |
| "As paramedics we're often going into the unknown, sometimes in hostile environments. It's just a matter of applying that to a different situation," he said. | |
| 'Commitment' | 'Commitment' |
| Chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies said: "I have been really impressed with the numbers of NHS workers who have stepped forward to help the communities that have been devastated by Ebola. | Chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies said: "I have been really impressed with the numbers of NHS workers who have stepped forward to help the communities that have been devastated by Ebola. |
| "The fact that more than 1,000 have come forward so far is a real testament to their commitment to public service." | "The fact that more than 1,000 have come forward so far is a real testament to their commitment to public service." |
| Speaking from Freetown, head of the the UK's Department of International Development (DFID) Joanna Reid told the BBC that Sierra Leonne was "absolutely determined to fight" Ebola. | |
| "[Volunteers] will be looked after buy NGOs that are experienced in this country, have been working here and also have a sense of team spirit," she said. | |
| She added that the facilities contributed by the UK would include 700 beds. | |
| Prof Tony Redmond, head of the charity UK-Med, which has organised the health workers' deployment, said he was proud of all the "selfless volunteers". | Prof Tony Redmond, head of the charity UK-Med, which has organised the health workers' deployment, said he was proud of all the "selfless volunteers". |
| There are now 1,000 British military personnel, scientists, healthcare and aid workers helping to tackle the outbreak in West Africa, International Development Secretary Justine Greening said. | |
| She added: "To beat Ebola we desperately need the experience and dedication of skilled doctors and nurses to care for the thousands of sick and dying patients who are not receiving the treatment they need. | She added: "To beat Ebola we desperately need the experience and dedication of skilled doctors and nurses to care for the thousands of sick and dying patients who are not receiving the treatment they need. |
| "Every one of these NHS heroes will play a vital role in the fight against Ebola. | "Every one of these NHS heroes will play a vital role in the fight against Ebola. |
| "It is only because of their combined efforts that we stand a chance of defeating this disease." | "It is only because of their combined efforts that we stand a chance of defeating this disease." |