Medical ship RFA Argus set sail for Sierra Leone last week to help with crisis and will be


A further 135 British Army medics left Britain for Ebola-stricken Sierra Leone this morning.

The doctors, nurses and consultants from the Royal Army Medical Corps will train West African health care workers who will man five Ebola Treatment Units the UK is currently building - but will not treat the public.

International Development Secretary Justine Greening also boarded the flight from RAF Brize Norton to Sierra Leone to help with the fight against Ebola.

The Cabinet minister says Britain is leading the international response to the disease in the country, and has pledged a £125 million aid package including suport for 700 treatment beds.

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Instructions: These three young British Army medics enter the departure lounge at RAF Brize Norton before flying to Sierra Leone today

New mission: British Army medics board an aircraft as they depart for Sierra Leone from RAF Brize Norton this morning

Ministerial support: International Development Secretary Justine Greening chats with British Army medics off to tackle Ebola and joined them on the flight to Africa

Good cheer: The men and women being sent to help care for others with Ebola shared a joke ahead of take-off

Boss: General Officer Commanding Force Troops Command, General Tim Radford speaks to his troops ahead of the Sierra Leone trip

The medics deploying today are full time, not reservists, and serve with the Catterick-based 35 Squadron, 5 Armoured Medical Regiment and Royal Army Medical Corps.

They will staff an Ebola Training Academy alongside around 90 personnel from 22 Field Hospital who left for Sierra Leone last week.

Ms Greening will visit the academy, as well as the site of a 92 bed treatment facility in Kerry Town which is in the final stages of being constructed.

She said: 'Halting the disease in West Africa is the most effective way of preventing Ebola infecting people here in the UK.

'That is why we are providing 700 treatment beds in Sierra Leone, sending vital supplies such as chlorine and protective clothing, and training hundreds of health workers.

'I look forward to seeing for myself how British Army medics and engineers, as well as our humanitarian and health workers, are spearheading the UK's efforts to contain and ultimately defeat Ebola.'

Final instruction: The medics from Catterick based 35 Squadron from 5 Medical Regiment, will man the Ebola Training Academy, instructing the health care workers who will be working in the five Ebola Treatment Units the UK is currently building

Early start: The men and women heading to Africa were at Brize Norton before dawn and the flight had set off by 7am

Symbol: A medic leaves his cap, carrying the crest of the Catterick based 35 Squadron from 5 Medical Regiment, resting on his bag

A medic looks at a SSAFA poster - the charity that provides lifelong support for our Forces and their families

Off and running: As part of the training they have been wearing full protective suits, treating simulated casualties in make-up

The Brize Norton plane will land in Sierra Leone later today before the medics head to a field hospital 30 miles from Freetown

The medics deploying today will staff an Ebola Training Academy alongside around 90 personnel from 22 Field Hospital who left for Sierra Leone last week

Altogether the UK is deploying 750 military personnel, including doctors, nurses, consultants and marines

The 200-plus medics now in Sierra Leone have been undergoing an extensive training exercise in preparation for their deployment to West Africa.

As part of the training they have been wearing full protective suits, treating simulated casualties in make-up.

The exercise at Strensall Barracks, York, saw a hangar converted into a mock-up field hospital.

On Friday medics, marines and sailors waved farewell as a Royal Navy ship left for Sierra Leone loaded with aid, food, water and equipment to help treat people infected with the deadly Ebola virus in a bid to stop it spreading.

Prime Minister David Cameron has called for other countries to do more to tackle the epidemic, which has so far killed more than 4,500 people and has been deemed the 'most severe acute health emergency in modern times' by the World Health Organisation.

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Argus, a navy ship, left Falmouth Docks in south west England for the 10-day journey to Sierra Leone - one of the west African countries worst hit by the disease.

RFA Argus, which left Britain on Friday, is carrying equipment to build medical units and life saving medical materials as well as thousands of bottles of water

Merlin helicopters will travel with the ship during its 10-day journey to Sierra Leone to support medical teams and aid workers on board

The personnel on board include medics who will use their expertise to try and combat the deadly outbreak of Ebola in west Africa

Standing ready: The First Aid room in the Royal Navy hospital ship RFA Argus at the Royal Navy Base of Gibraltar today

Help from above: Helicopters are seen in the Royal Navy hospital ship RFA Argus in Gibraltar

Off road vehicles purchased by Department for International Development (DFID) are lifted aboard he Royal Navy hospital ship

The ship is carrying equipment to build medical units and life saving medical materials as well as thousands of bottles of water. It is due to stop at Gibraltar en route to collect more supplies to ensure as many people as possible can be treated.

Around 380 personnel - including 80 medics and 80 marines - set sail on the ship today as dozens lined the decks of the ship to wave goodbye to onlookers as it left the dock after waiting for high tide.

The ship could be stationed off the west coast of Africa for up to three months and is being termed a 'floating hospital'. It has a casualty unit and 100 beds but no patients will be brought aboard to prevent further transmission of the disease. Instead it will be used as a forward base for medics, engineers, soldiers and aid experts to build specialist medical units.

Captain David Eagles said all crew will be subject to strict checks to prevent the spread of Ebola.

Altogether the UK is deploying 750 military personnel.

Precautions: A healthcare worker is sprayed with disinfectants after working in an Ebola treatment centre in the Hastings area of Freetown, Sierra Leone. Army medics will treat other medics if they fall ill