'Plug-and-play' medical pods that can deliver NHS level care in minutes developed for Royal Navy to save lives
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Trials have already taken place on different ships as the Royal Navy looks forward to the future of medical treatment
“World-leading” medical pods which can be set up within minutes are being developed for the Royal Navy.
The “plug-and-play” treatment centres, constructed by Force Development Services in Fareham, are designed to work on land and at sea. Built to provide NHS-grade standard care in military environments, it’s hoped they can save a large number of lives once they’re rolled out across the fleet.
Managing director Claire Hemmings said thinks the pods, designed for medical or other purposes, will shape the future of the force. She told The News: “It gives them more agility, speed, and a greater ability to adapt to a constantly changing technological environment.
“Pods seem to be the natural solution to solve that problem, so we wanted to get on board with that. I think it’s a world-leading capability which can be offered to the Royal Navy and others across the globe.”
The capabilities are being developed under the Royal Navy’s POD concept by Medical Service personnel. The medical pods are entirely modular and can be adapted for various needs. Given its multi-domain functionality, they can be deployed and recovered rapidly on land and at sea aboard warships. It took four years of design work to bring the concept to life.
The collapsible structures are designed to deliver Role 2 medical care - the equivalent of accident and emergency (A&E) in the civilian world - alongside damage control surgery intensive care, CT scanning, and sterilisation. Its flexible shell means it can be used aboard several current and future Royal Navy ships, one potential being the Type 26 frigates with its modular mission bay.
Force Development Services has been slowly expanding and now have more than 30 staff working on various projects. They formulated the pods hand-in-hand with the Royal Navy’s Disruptive Capabilities and Technologies Office (DCTO) during the development.
“We couldn’t have delivered this in the timeframe had we not worked with them,” Ms Hemmings said. “It enabled us to reiterate faster than ever before under defence procurement.
“The time we were able to achieve this means we’ve got this capability to the readiness level in the time that we have. That’s to do with the partnership we have developed between industry and the navy.”
The pods are designed inline with the Royal Navy’s push towards a hybrid force; conventional warships being deployed alongside autonomous vessels and drones. Business development director Paul Keating-Brown, a former Royal Navy Nursing Officer and Lieutenant Commander, said they can be set up and reach initial operational capability within 20 minutes.
They can also be used in groups of three with a life support pod; supplying two medical pods with power, water, oxygen and clinical waste management. Significant changes have been made since the first version, which now includes more advanced expanding side systems, improved internal electronics, and configurable sides that are self supporting and can withstand more weight.
When asked if they will revolutionise medical care, Ms Hemmings said: “It allows the navy to get closer with such a mobile capability. It’s pan-domain deployable and a significant step up from tented solutions. I hope it will save a large number of lives, and give them a huge ability to surge if and when the need arises.”
Ms Hemmings said it gives personnel the ability to expand and react at pace within the hybrid navy model. These pods have already been trialled by Royal Naval Medical Service clinicians aboard RFA Lyme Bay and HMS Protector. The director hopes they’ll be used operationally soon.
“When you fix anything to a vessel, you’re solely reliant on the vessel to come back and be adapted,” she added. “This is a plug and play system which can be integrated across vessels with different configurations.
“I’m sure lots of people prefer a large ship with everything on board, but the navy has to do more with less now. I believe the pods are a perfect balance between getting what they need, and being able to offer the capability in the time they need it.
“We’re going to continue to invest heavily in defence and the other divisions. The pods programme has shown that SMEs can move at pace, and we’ve proven we can design, develop and deliver at pace.”
Major changes to medical care are expected. RFA Argus, a former Primary Casualty Receiving Ship which served since the Falklands War, was retired due to her deteriorating condition. She was towed out of HMNB Portsmouth on March 3. Plans are being developed for how best to use the medical pods.
Speaking to The News during this summer’s Nato Plenary at HMNB Portsmouth, Commander Karen McCullough said the pods allows personnel to put a tested clinical environment onto a platform and deliver safe care. “The trails went incredibly well,” she added.
“We were able to get clinical staff in here which enabled us to play with the space and make sure the configuration was good for them. The HMS Protector integration was about learning the challenges and lessons of docking it into a platform and what that means for the ship and how it operates. That enabled us to take this forward into a bigger trial which we’re aiming to do on a commercial platform.
“Building medical capability, particularly with capacity into platforms, restricts the use of it. You can have a platform where you can dock in different capabilities. It doesn’t have to be a clinical pod, it might be a weapons pod or something that has different effects.
“It gives the Navy the agility to have an effects-based delivery from its platform rather than just saying ‘that ship is a medical capability’. The force is making sure it can use its platforms in the most efficient manner it can.
“This delivers an effects-based medical capability. You might not want to deploy a full hospital care facility, you might just want to have a damage control resuscitation suite. This pod can do that for you.”
