Duncan Selbie Chief Executive Wellington House 133 – 155 Waterloo Road London SE1 8UG Tel: 020 7654 8090 www.gov.uk/phe 19 November 2014 Dear IANPHI members, Volunteers to Staff UK Diagnostic Laboratories As you may be aware, the UK is leading on the response to the outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in Sierra Leone. As part of the UK response, Public Health England (PHE) is operating three UK funded diagnostic laboratories in Sierra Leone. The laboratories are essential in helping to speed up the time taken to identify, isolate and treat infected patients, or release from isolation those that test negative. They are funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) and managed by PHE. The laboratories provide critical support for the new UK Ebola Treatment Centres and are helping to stop the spread of Ebola across the country. PHE and other UK based organisations are providing volunteers, however, we urgently need more volunteers to give their expertise, time and commitment to help staff and deliver the vital work of the diagnostics laboratories, over the short, medium and longer term. There is a critical need to ensure sufficient volunteers over the 2014 Christmas and New Year Period. The first wave of volunteer laboratory staff is already operating at the Kerry Town Laboratory. Further volunteers are required to staff the other two laboratories (in Port Loko and Makeni districts) and to provide subsequent replacement teams. We hope that the international public health community will rise to the global humanitarian challenge and volunteer the much needed technical expertise essential for fighting Ebola in Sierra Leone. We are looking for the following capabilities for the laboratories:     All levels of laboratory technicians and scientists, with bench experience in microbiology or virology, and competent at working in multidisciplinary teams Experienced biomedical scientists Laboratory team leaders, with track record of laboratory management and organisational skills General laboratory technicians and scientists are encouraged to volunteer. Training and Deployment Volunteers will typically undergo a pre-deployment process which will include vetting of competencies, full laboratory training of all equipment and assays (one week in the UK), and pre-travel vaccinations and medication such as yellow fever and malaria. Volunteers will typically be deployed for a four to six week period. Each laboratory team has 16 members organised into two shifts of eight hours each, covering a total of 16 hours a day. The figures allow for regular days off for team members. Technical support and 24 hour help is available through the PHE Rare & Imported Pathogens Laboratory (RIPL). An appropriate agreement will be put in place between volunteers and the relevant international nongovernmental organisation which will provide healthcare in country, accommodation and subsistence, transport and medical evacuation if required. Registration Volunteers should register their interest by email to [email protected]. Potential volunteers will be sent an information pack and application form by PHE. I hope this opportunity to bring their skills to bear in tackling a humanitarian disaster, appropriately supported by senior experienced staff on the ground, will spark interest and offers to help from your staff. Thank you for your consideration and support for this initiative. With best wishes Yours sincerely Duncan Selbie Chief Executive