Unique health and MoD partnership celebrated as Afghan camp closes
Health and Armed Forces teams in Shropshire are celebrating a successful collaboration which has supported the resettlement of thousands of Afghan civilians who served the British Army.
Working in roles such as interpreters, their work was vital to the successful deployment of British Forces – but this work also made them and their families a target for the Taliban. As a result, more than 15,000 have come to Britain so far as part of the Afghan Resettlement and Assistance Policy, also known as ARAP.
Operation Lazurite was instigated as the code-name for the programme to support those arriving in the UK as part of the ARAP, with camps set up in various locations across the country to begin their journey to UK citizenship. One such camp was at Nesscliffe Barracks, between Shrewsbury and Oswestry. Afghan civilians began arriving at Nesscliffe in October 2023, with the camp running for almost two years until it finally closed last month.
In those 23 months, 1,515 Afghans passed through the camp. Managing their health needs was a huge undertaking, so the Ministry of Defence (MoD) partnered with the local NHS to deliver the project. The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH) was named as the lead health provider, with Rebecca Warren – a nurse leader at the hospital who also serves as a reservist with 202 (Midlands) Multi-Role Medical Regiment – leading the work.
But this was a true collaboration across all NHS services in NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin. A total of 1,419 Afghans have been registered with local GP services since the camp opened, with 2,496 GP hours provided to them in that time.
In total, 242 families passed through the camp, with 11 babies born during their time in Shropshire. Maternity services were provided by The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, while Health Visitor services were provided by Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust.
While the camp has now closed to further Afghan arrivals, everyone who spent time at it has now moved on to more permanent accommodation, and Operation Lazurite continues in other parts of the country.
Rebecca Warren said: “This was something that happened very quickly. When I was first asked to get involved with this back in 2023, we were basically given 48 hours to get the Nesscliffe camp up and running, so it was a huge undertaking.
“We had no idea then that it would run for nearly two years and the operation changed several times, but throughout all that what we saw was fantastic team spirit and seamless collaboration between the Armed Forces and all the health organisations here in Shropshire. I was proud to be leading such a dedicated team.
“I’ve been lucky to do many rewarding things during my nursing career, but this has been right up there.
“These Afghans are true heroes who took incredible risks to support British forces on deployment, and it is the least that we owe them to now be able to ensure they can lead safe lives with their families over here in the UK. Some of their stories have inspired me, and I know they will go on to make further valuable contributions to British life.”
Stacey Keegan, Chief Executive at RJAH, said: “This was an unusual project for us to be asked to lead, given that we are a specialist orthopaedic hospital, but it was an honour that we were asked to do so.
“I am proud of health colleagues across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin who came together to make this possible and deliver such a positive outcome. I want to thank and commend each and every one of them, and especially Rebecca, whose commitment and attention to detail ensured its success.”
Dr Lorna Clarson, Chief Medical Officer at NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin said: “This has been an outstanding example of partnership working between health and military teams. I’m grateful to all our NHS colleagues who contributed to supporting Afghan families during their time in Shropshire, including Shrewsbury's Primary Care Network (PCN), local GP practices, community pharmacy, health visitors, and midwifery - with RJAH leading the onsite provision and co-ordination so successfully.
“Together, their efforts helped ensure people received the care they needed at a challenging time in their lives, and I’m proud of the role our local services played in making that possible.”
The closure of the camp was marked by a short ceremony hosted at the Headley Court Veterans’ Orthopaedic Centre in Oswestry. At that event, a number of Two Star commendations were awarded to key health staff involved in the project, while Rebecca’s sterling leadership was marked with a special Three Star Commendation.
