Child patients in a field hospital during the 2003 Gulf conflict.

During the 2003 conflict in the Gulf, 202 Field Hospital provided the initial Role 3 medical support when hostilities began on 20th March. The first child casualty arrived two days later and over the next four weeks there were 24 admissions of patients aged 15 years or less, amounting to 2% of the total admissions but constituting 19% of ITU admissions. There were 49 operations on children out of a total of 352 theatre cases. The small number of children treated had a disproportionate impact on the functioning of the field hospital. Planned provision for such patients could reduce this impact and should include suitable equipment and specialist staff.