Launched In partnership with Medical innovation, the Med Surge initiative provides a unique opportunity for businesses to submit medical solutions that could be used by the UK armed forces in the future. Importantly for suppliers, if successful, they will be fast tracked through the procurement process with pilots and awarded contracts taking place within six months to one year.

The call for cutting-edge medical solutions is open to companies from the UK and overseas and is specifically looking for innovations that fit into six categories:

• prophylaxing combat trauma

• physiological and anatomical disruption

• predictive algorithms

• future transfusion strategies

• total wound care and telemedicine

• augmented reality and virtual reality

Proposals are now being accepted and companies can also meet with the jHub at Medical Innovation in October in Birmingham. The event, organised in partnership with the UK Defence Medical Services, focuses on developing the medical capability of tomorrow that will help save lives in the future.

Air Vice-Marshal Bruce Hedley, Director Joint Warfare within Joint Forces Command, commented:

jHub has been designed to help the UK Armed Forces seek out the world’s most innovative solutions that will help overcome specific challenges. By working with Medical Innovation we’re hoping to expedite the process of identifying unique new healthcare concepts and technologies that we can put into the hands of the user within a year.

Proposals for the Med Surge initiative can be submitted from the Medical Innovation site.

The Dive Team were heavily reinforced by members of the Royal Engineers Sports Diving Association and training took place over many months to ensure both teams were ready to dive in this remote location.

HMHS Glenart Castle sank 100 years ago when she was torpedoed by a German U-boat, resulting in over 160 lives lost including Medical Officers and Nurses. She currently lies at 73m in the Bristol Channel, 40 nautical miles from Padstow. During the dive two memorial plaques were fixed to the wreck on behalf of Royal Centre for Defence Medicine and the Thame Remembers Project; these plaques marked the centenary of the sinking and the end of World War 1.

The dive was poignant to those working for Defence Medical Services and the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine as the newly opened modern Tri-Service Mess for those serving at the Royal Centre Defence Medicine, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham has been named after the Hospital Ship.

Major Henrietta Poon of the Royal Army Medical Corps said:

We remember the brave Medical Officers, Nurses and Service Personnel who perished onboard HMHS Glenart Castle. It was a particularly poignant moment for me as a serving Military Doctor to complete this dive and lay tributes at their final resting place.

The Commanding Officer of the Royal Centre Defence Medicine, Colonel Jo Palmer, said:

This challenging project to place Commemorative Plaques on HMHS Glenart Castle is a fitting tribute to all those on board who gave their lives whilst serving their country, and illustrates the enduring nature of the ethos and values of the military medical services.

British residents were killed, homes were destroyed and infrastructure was decimated when Irma and Maria, two of the most powerful hurricanes for decades, smashed through the region back-to-back in September 2017.

Mark Lancaster visited Barbados, Antigua and Montserrat this week to reassure locals that the Ministry of Defence is supporting other Government departments to ensure that similar devastation is not repeated.

Armed Forces Minister Mark Lancaster said:

No matter what the elements throw at our Overseas Territories this year, we will be there to help them every step of the way throughout 2018 and beyond. We may not be able to prevent natural disasters from occurring, but our world-class military have been planning meticulously to ensure lives are protected and damage is kept to a minimum.

Our citizens in the Caribbean have already shown incredible resilience over the last year and we are determined that when this difficult period is over their local facilities are in a better state than they were before.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Mounts Bay will act as the hub of the UK’s response, and the minister was able to see a demonstration of her amphibious capabilities while in Montserrat.

As well as being able to carry vital aid and equipment, RFA Mounts Bay also has the latest Royal Navy Wildcat helicopter on board to provide aerial support – this will be the first time it has operated in the Caribbean. There is also a medical facility on board, with 10 patient beds for anyone who suffers serious injuries or illness.

The visit also provided an opportunity for Mr Lancaster to speak to island governors and residents about their needs as they continue to recover from last year’s hurricanes.

As well as preparing for this year, RFA Mounts Bay has been in the region since Irma struck and will remain there until 2020 to help restore the islands to normal.

The Government has already committed £142million to support the recovery effort in the affected territories, as well as £300million of UK loan guarantees.

Foreign & Commonwealth Office minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon is currently visiting the British Virgin Islands, which suffered extensive damage, as the Government continues its preparations for 2018.

DASA has launched this competition to focus on protection from ballistic threats and fragmentation for soldiers on the front line. The protection against blast and directed energy threats would also be of interest. Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) threats are outside the scope of this competition.

The competition is intended to find a solution that will protect multiple soldiers rather than be used for individual soldier personal protection (such as body armour).

The programme is expected to have a duration of three years with multiple phases. Up to £600k is available for Phase 1 for six month duration projects. Over £1m of additional funding may be available for future phases.

This competition is now open and closes at midday 24 October 2018.

If you have any queries on this competition, please do contact us at accelerator@dstl.gov.uk or sign up for alerts on our news pages.

At the recent United States-Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Summit, President Trump and Kim Jong Un signed the Sentosa Agreement, which included a commitment to recover remains from the DPRK and return them to the US, where they will be identified.

The remains may include UK casualties and the DNA samples will be used to support identification, over a number of years, to make sure any UK personnel identified are ultimately given military funerals at the United Nations cemetery in the Republic of Korea. The MOD also intend to cover costs for immediate family members to attend.

UK personnel fought during the Korean War as part of the United Nations Command (UNC). The three-year conflict between 1950 and 1953 led to the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives from Korea, China and the UNC.

Family members of those missing personnel who have no known grave are asked to call the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre on 01452 854622/855258.