Healthcare specialists from University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust not only provide care for patients across the south west peninsula, but their expertise also reaches one of the most extreme environments on Earth.

Members of the British Antarctic Survey Medical Unit recently visited the Trust’s Board to talk about their work and fully supported their bid to win the tender for this work once again in 2026.

BASMU described how some of the Trust’s clinicians support scientists working in temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees in Antarctica.

UHP has been the provider of the British Antarctic Survey Medical Unit (BASMU) since 1997, making it unique within the NHS.

Staff from the Trust, particularly from the Emergency Department work alongside military colleagues to deliver a comprehensive medical service for around 700 British Antarctic Survey scientists and staff deployed each year. This includes pre-deployment medical assessments and training, 24-hour medical and nursing advice, pharmaceuticals and specialist equipment.

The team also provides telemedicine support to remote research stations and deployed doctors working thousands of miles from the UK.

BASMU supplies trained doctors to the British Antarctic Survey ship Sir David Attenborough and to research stations including King Edward Point and Rothera. In collaboration with the Ministry of Defence Hospital Unit, military medics, doctors and nurses are also deployed to Signy, Rothera and Halley Research Station, where scientists famously discovered the ozone hole.

Beyond frontline care, BASMU is also involved in research. Over the past five years, staff have published 13 peer-reviewed journal articles and delivered 11 conference papers and presentations, working through national and local collaborations, including with the University of Plymouth.

The British Antarctic Survey is a research-driven organisation recognised for its commitment to scientific excellence, operational professionalism and innovation. It is regarded as a partner of choice for science, operations and business, delivering complex work in some of the most challenging environments on the planet while addressing global issues.