Overview of 12 months anaesthetic activity in a UK field hospital on enduring operations in Iraq

The British Field Hospital facility in Southern Iraq has seen a continuous turnover of patient admissions since the start of offensive operations during the 2003 Gulf conflict (Operation TELIC). During the war a number of procedures were carried out and these have been well described to date. On May 1st 2003 President Bush declared an end to high intensity operations with a subsequent reduction in medical activity. However, the facility has continued to provide medical care to large numbers of service and civilian patients from the end of hostilities to the present day. The purpose of this review is to present anaesthetic and demographic data relating to procedures carried out at the Field Hospital over a 12-month period from the end of the war-fighting phase of the conflict.