Operation LITTEN: a year delivering medical care during the peak of the Mediterranean migrant crisis, 2016-2017

Abstract

The increased movement of migrants across the Mediterranean to the European Union intensified in 2015. This paper will focus on the complex experiences and lessons learnt by three Medical Officers (MOs) involved in one year of maritime rescue operations in the Mediterranean (August 2016 to July 2017). During this period a total of 7930 people were rescued by the Royal Navy (RN), with the largest single rescue involving 712 people. The medical teams involved delivered sustained care for periods of up to 80 hours, often with no immediate casualty evacuation available. The scope of clinical practice was wide and challenging, from the birth of infants, to the delivery of care to those with burns, gunshot wounds, sepsis and drowning. The teams were often confronted with mass casualty events, a challenge for any deployed unit.