The new Canadian Red Cross field hospital was created as part of the First Responder Initiative, a partnership with the Government of Canada. The First Responder Initiative includes two health emergency response units: a rapid deployment field hospital and a basic health care unit.
As Red Cross Provincial Director of Disaster Management John Saunders describes it, it’s a bit like M*A*S*H – the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital… but without the army. The rapid deployment field hospital is equipped with an operating room (well, it’s a tent) where surgeries could be performed.
Red Cross tented field hospitals can provide basic health care, vaccinations, surgery and mobile medical services as needed. The Canadian Red Cross plans to have a field hospital and clinic ready for deployment December 1, 2010. / Photo credit: Johan Hallberg-Campbell
“Having this field hospital means that Canada and the Canadian Red Cross will be able to play a more significant role in international disasters – in addition to sending people and funding, we are also now able to send a hospital.”
Last week, the Canadian Red Cross trained doctors, nurses and logistical experts to prepare them for deployment. It was rigorous training that included setting up the hospital facilities and an operating theatre, and other training exercises, such as responding to mass casualties – all while sleeping in tents despite the cold, wet weather.
At the time of their training, the delegates did not know that some of them would be immediately deployed.
For this particular mission, only the basic health care unit will be deployed. It will be set up as a cholera treatment centre, where patients can be treated day and night.
This field hospital will boost the overall efforts by all Red Cross societies in Haiti. The Red Cross has been providing treatment, urgently needed medical equipment and educating communities about the disease in order to prevent its spread.
The Red Cross currently has one cholera treatment centre set up north of Port-au-Prince, and an observation post set up in La Piste camp in Port-au-Prince.