Six hundred further military personnel - as well as helicopters and a ship - to head to Sierra Leone to help contain the outbreak

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Britain is to deploy 600 extra military personnel to Sierra Leone next week to help combat Ebola.

They will join 150 already in place and will be backed up by a ship, planes and helicopters.

The decision was made at a meeting of Cobra, the government’s national emergencies committee, in Downing Street on Wednesday, where David Cameron was reassured by his officials that the risk to public health in the UK remains low.

He was briefed by Dame Sally Davies, the chief medical officer for England, and Dr Paul Cosford, the head of Public Health England, who said training on how to deal with suspected Ebola cases had already been given to ambulance medics, hospitals, NHS 111, GPs and other key public health workers. Information posters for passengers on recognising the signs of Ebola will also be put up in UK airports.

A Downing Street spokesman said: “The case of Will Pooley had demonstrated the UK’s ability to deal with an identified case without wider infection, with a world-leading specialist unit at The Royal Free hospital.

“Contingency planning would continue and will include a national exercise and wider resilience training to ensure the UK is fully prepared. The chief medical officer has now issued further advice to medical professionals across the country and would continue to do so in the coming weeks.”

Pooley contracted Ebola while working as a nurse in Sierra leone and was flown back to the UK and treated successfully at the Royal Free hospital in north London.

The Cobra discussion covered both preparations for dealing with Ebola in the UK and the UK’s work tackling the health crisis in West Africa.

The defence secretary, Michael Fallon, describing the Ebola outbreak as a global threat, said: “We are stepping up significantly the UK’s contribution and leadership in work to tackle the outbreak, on land, in the air and at sea.”

Much of the focus of the deployment is helping to establish Ebola treatment centres and an Ebola training academy.

“We are deploying troops, helicopters and a ship - army medics and Merlin helicopters, supported by Royal Fleet Auxiliary Argus - to provide direct support and reassurance.”

They will reinforce engineers and planes already on the ground constructing the Kerry Town Ebola treatment unit. They will help in the training of healthcare workers, hygienists and others at a World Health Organisation Ebola training centre, including 200 military personnel to help run the site.

Three Navy Merlin helicopters and crew plus engineers will be sent to move staff around. The Argus will be used in support as a forward operating base for the helicopters.

The department of international development is taking the lead in the British effort, which includes a commitment to build at least four new Ebola treatment facilities with a total of 700 beds near Port Loko, Freetown, Makeni and Bo.

The extra personnel announced on Wednesday will also help support Sierra Leone’s over-stretched public health service, with the aim of helping up to 9,000 patients over a six-month period.

Military personnel will deploy to Sierra Leone next week where they will join military engineers and planners who have been in the country for almost a month, overseeing the construction of the medical facilities.

Philippa Tuckman, a military injuries claims solicitor, said: “This is a high risk deployment. We must hope that the training and medical support provided to British troops is adequate to protect them from the virus and only time will tell whether sufficient provision has been put in place. The MoD would not want to find itself faced with serious questions about whether it is properly protecting its soldiers from this disease.”