PATIENTS with bullet wounds and limbs blown off by roadside bombs are a far cry from work at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital.

But those injuries have become a daily sight for Surgeon Commander Douglas Wilkinson, from North Oxford.

The 49-year old Royal Navy Reservist temporarily swapped his role as a consultant in the JR’s intensive care unit for a tour of duty as a military doctor in Afghanistan just over two months ago.

He has been battling to save the lives of soldiers – and Afghan civilians – suffering bullet wounds and injuries from roadside bombs at the field hospital at Camp Bastion. The camp, near the town of Lashkar Gah, is the headquarters of British forces operating in Helmand province, in southern Afghanistan.

Despite dealing with critically-injured patients on a daily basis, the father-of-three said members of the medical team at the camp were positive.

He added: “Our morale is very high. We’re an experienced group of doctors and nurses, motivated to deliver the best possible care to our troops.

“We’re confident that we’re delivering that and, more importantly, the troops know we’re delivering that.

“It’s that knowledge of ‘a job well done’ that keeps morale strong.

“There’s also great camaraderie among the team here and everyone has a ‘can do’ mentality.

“The emergency, theatre and intensive care teams support each other, especially when there’s a rapid escalation of casualties, and it’s very rewarding to see medical best practice being delivered in this remote corner of the world.”

He admitted seeing soldiers who were severely injured did affect the medics. But he added: “We all support each other emotionally.

“We crack jokes and make light of the very serious work we’re doing, in order to cope.

“Emotion is there, but we can’t drop our guard and let it through, because we need to remain professional and do what we can for the troops.”

As the officer in charge of intensive care at the UK Joint Forces Medical Group Field Hospital, Surgeon Cdr Wilkinson oversees the treatment of severely injured casualties until they are well enough to be flown back to Britain for further treatment.

And it is not just British troops who need his help.

Camp Bastion treats British, American, Nato and Afghan National Army battlefield casualties, as well as Afghan civilians who have been caught in cross fire or injured by the Taliban’s roadside bombs.

Surgeon Cdr Wilkinson does not know when he will be coming home to his wife Diane and his three children, Laura, 20, Nicholas, 18, and Christopher, 16, but he hopes it will be in time to spend Christmas together.

He said: “We get to speak for about half an hour a week over the phone and we can email.

“We all know we’ve got a job to do out here, but yes, it would be nice to be back for Christmas”