Please tell us a little about your career path at the ICRC.
My name is Gregory Brissonneau and I have been with the ICRC since 2009. Over the years I have had different roles. I started out as a delegate in the field for about four years, before doing a stint at headquarters in Geneva for another four years. After that, I went back to the field and worked in different countries for a further four years. Now I am back at headquarters, as the ICRC’s staffing coordinator for the Red Cross Field Hospital in Rafah, southern Gaza.
What does the job of staffing coordinator entail in an emergency context like Gaza?
I am basically a kind of talent manager but focused specifically on coordinating staffing for the Gaza field hospital. Although the hospital has a relatively small number of mobile-staff positions – some 27 people – the complexity of the project and the high rate of staff rotation (every six weeks) requires the presence of a dedicated coordinator at the ICRC. I work with the different stakeholders, including the management of the field hospital, the ICRC health team in Jerusalem and, of course, my counterpart the staffing coordinator for the partner National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The 60-bed field hospital, which was set up in May to help meet the overwhelming medical needs emanating from the ongoing conflict, is a joint project run in partnership with 12 National Societies.
What are some of the unique challenges you face in staffing an emergency field hospital?
Interestingly, despite the concurrent emergency in Lebanon, we’re not having too much difficulty identifying staff who are willing to work in Gaza, although finding experienced people with know-how in treating war casualties is more of a challenge. In many ways, for new staff joining the field hospital team, Gaza is a real “school” in working in a conflict setting. The main challenges for me, though, are the high rate of staff rotation and the complexity of getting people into the area. The staffing coordinator must see to it that everything is planned out as far in advance as possible.
What are the key skills and qualities needed for staff going to work in an emergency field hospital?
I would say resilience! And also, a very strong capacity to work under pressure, knowledge of ICRC protocols, experience in treating war injuries and ability to work in a team.
How does the ICRC ensure that the staff chosen for such assignments are prepared for the challenges they may face on the ground?
It is important to remember that the ICRC is not alone in this project. As I said earlier, we are working together with 12 National Societies, which have been providing trained staff since the outset. Around half of the staff deployed come from the National Societies, which have set up their own training courses. We also run longstanding programmes for surgical teams, who are used to rotating from one emergency to another.
An annual training workshop is also organized in Nairobi, Kenya, where field-hospital conditions are simulated for a week. The participants have to respond to all the challenges they would potentially face while working in such a setting.
How does your staffing team coordinate with other departments to ensure timely deployment in emergencies?
The ICRC has a rapid-deployment mechanism that enables it to respond quickly to sudden, acute crises, but our Gaza operations have long since moved on from this stage. For the field hospital, we coordinate with other stakeholders through weekly meetings, for instance with the hospital management, the ICRC health coordinator and hospital team in Jerusalem, and the staffing coordinator for the partner National Societies, who is based in Helsinki, Finland. I am also in touch with other talent managers. Tapping into this collective intelligence has led to positive results and today there are no gaps in the 27 mobile-staff positions.
How does the ICRC ensure that deployed staff are aware of and prepared for the specific needs and conditions in Gaza?
Before they are offered an assignment in Gaza, potential candidates are briefed by their talent manager at the ICRC or the relevant National Society. Once the posting is confirmed, they attend a compulsory pre-deployment briefing specifically for Gaza. On their way to the field, they attend a one-day briefing in Amman, Jordan. This is followed up with additional briefings and explanations once they arrive in Gaza. To ensure that all staff are fully prepared, we also provide them with a list of items that are not available in Gaza and that they should bring with them, for instance their own medical clothing. We also organize an obligatory webinar for all staff who have been selected.
How does the ICRC address the well-being of staff before, during and after assignments in a conflict zone?
They are closely monitored by their National Society and/or the ICRC staff health team and they can also debrief with our mental health and psychosocial support colleagues. Although it is quite a traumatizing assignment, hearing shelling every day and witnessing the horrors of war, most staff who have worked at the field hospital are willing to go back again. This is a very positive sign of their well-being and, more generally, of the dedication of our colleagues at the ICRC and across the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to using their expertise where it is most needed to help save lives.
How does the ICRC work with local medical and support staff in Gaza to ensure that the field hospital can function efficiently?
The ICRC and National Societies have managed to send in some staff, but we rely heavily on personnel from the Ministry of Health in Gaza, who also work for public structures and are living in extremely tough conditions. They are the real heroes of this conflict!
We also support other medical facilities in the northern, southern and central parts of the Gaza Strip and coordinate daily with the other players present. We work closely with the Palestine Red Crescent Society, which organizes the referral of patients to the hospital and first aid.
What lessons has the ICRC learned from past emergency deployments that influence current staffing strategies for the field hospital in Gaza?
As an organization that has been in existence for over 160 years, the ICRC has wide-ranging experience in dealing with emergencies, and we have of course learned from previous large-scale deployments. One element that stands out is the need to have a pool of experienced staff that are available at all times. We have to maintain this pool and train them to be ready for deployment in a field hospital whenever necessary. This was key at the start of the current project.
As you can imagine, each context is unique and there is no one-size-fits-all solution, so we are continually learning and adapting our staffing activities to the needs of the Gaza field hospital.