2nd Medical Brigade (2 Med Bde) is a formation of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

formed under 1st UK Division. It predominantly provides deployed hospital care via 13 Field Hospitals. It also provides specialist medical capabilities via three Nationally Recruited Units; 306 Hospital Support Regiment, 335 Medical Evacuation Regiment and Medical Operational Support Group.

History

Headquarters 2nd Medical Brigade was initially formed at Imphal Barracks, York under the title of The Medical Group on 1 April 2002, as a consequence of the Strategic Defence Review. The HQ has operational command of the 3 Regular Cadre field hospitals, 10 independent Reserve field hospitals, a medical evacuation regiment and 3 other specialist regiments. It also provides the enhanced medical operational command and control (C2) capability lost by the Army Medical Services (AMS). The brigade has significantly raised the quality of pre-deployment medical training, seeing it provide a high standard of field medical care at field hospitals in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. In March 2020, as part of

Operation Rescript Operation Rescript is the code name for the British military operation to help tackle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom and its Crown Dependencies. It has been described as the UK's "biggest ever homeland military operation i ...

, 256 Field Hospital helped construct a temporary critical care hospital, named

NHS Nightingale Hospital London The NHS Nightingale Hospital London was the first of the NHS Nightingale Hospitals, temporary hospitals set up by NHS England for the COVID-19 pandemic. It was housed in the ExCeL London convention centre in East London. The hospital was rapid ...

, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United Kingdom, it has resulted in confir ...

Future

Under the Future Soldier programme announced on 25 November 2021, the brigade will be reduced to a Colonel's Command. Subsequently, many units will be moved under direct command of the divisions (see future structure below). The new command will be known as '2nd Medical Group'. In addition, the group will transfer from 1st Division to 'Field Army Troops', reporting directly to

Commander Field Army The Field Army is a command of the British Army responsible for generating and preparing forces for current and contingency operations. Commander Field Army reports to the Chief of the General Staff. Background Following the 1966 Defence Wh ...

. The role of the group was described as follows: "The 2nd Medical Group will generate field hospitals and task-organised medical support to the deployed force. It will be significantly reinforced by Army Reserve multi-role medical regiments and specialist medical capabilities.

Emblem

The centre cross within the emblem represents the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

, under which the majority of the AMS operates in accordance with the

Geneva Conventions upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conven ...

. Each arm of the Cross represents one of the four corps that make up the Army Medical Services, which are: *

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

(RAMC) *

Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC; known as ''the QAs'') is the nursing branch of the British Army Medical Services. History Although an "official" nursing service was not established until 1881, the corps traces its heritage t ...

(QARANC) *

Royal Army Dental Corps The Royal Army Dental Corps (RADC) is a specialist corps in the British Army that provides dental health services to British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace. The corps is a part of the British Army's Army Medical Services. ...

(RADC) *

Royal Army Veterinary Corps The Royal Army Veterinary Corps (RAVC), known as the Army Veterinary Corps (AVC) until it gained the royal prefix on 27 November 1918, is an administrative and operational branch of the British Army responsible for the provision, training and ca ...

(RAVC) The Rod and the Serpent - The centre of the emblem depicts the

Rod of Aesculapius In Greek mythology, the Rod of Asclepius (⚕; grc, Ράβδος του Ασκληπιού, , sometimes also spelled Asklepios), also known as the Staff of Aesculapius and as the asklepian, is a serpent-entwined rod wielded by the Greek god A ...

who lived in ancient Greece in the year 1256BC. Aesculapius was known in ancient Greece as the father of medicine and was raised to God status according to Greek mythology. The serpent was revered by the ancient Greeks as having healing powers and combined with the Rod of Aesculapius has been recognised as the international symbol of medicine and healing since 1200BC.

List of structures

References

External links

2 Medical Brigade Website
{{Current British brigades Military units and formations established in 2002 2nd, Medical 2nd, United Kingdom British Army Landmark programme 2002 establishments in the United Kingdom