A Fixed Camp Health Facility can provide outpatient care and can serve over a hundred patients a day and is staffed with a team of 32–36 personnel. NZMAT has the capability to deploy one fixed camp health facility, which is a fully self-sufficient, static temporary primary & emergency care clinic (8 chairs, 9 stretchers and 2 resuscitation tables).
A Fixed Camp Facility:
- Deploy within 24 – 48 hours from point of origin for a minimum period of 14 days
- Has a central base of operations leadership / coordination team (this could be embedded within the fixed facility as required)
- Provides primary, emergency and maternal child health outpatient care
- Provides emergency resuscitation care (24 hours)
- Operational during daylight hours only
- Deploys with appropriate equipment and supplies
- Adhere to the Emergency Medical Team (EMT) guiding principles and core standards
World Health Organization description
The World Health Organization provides the following brief description and key characteristics of Type-1 Fixed Facility (2021):
Descriptor
- Outpatient initial care of injuries and other health care needs and referrals for ongoing investigation or care and community based primary care from a fixed location.
Services
- Triage, Assessment, First Aid
- Treatment of trauma and non-trauma emergencies
- Stabilization and referral of patients requiring inpatient services and higher level of care
- Primary health care for basic communicable and non-communicable diseases, basic reproductive health services
Key characteristics
- Use light deployable, adaptable facility structure
- Must be able to supply their own fixed outpatient facilities, such as tents or special equipped vehicles but can work from suitable existing structures if requested
Minimal benchmark indicators
- 100 outpatients / day
Opening hours
- Daytime outpatient services but on-call team available to provide life-saving care overnight for emergency cases
About the Fixed Camp Health Facility
NZMAT’s fixed health facility is a series of interconnecting sections for triage, primary care/emergency area, maternity, resuscitation, a 10-stretcher observation area, and a pharmacy. There is also storage, logistics and administrative command and control areas. It carries sufficient equipment and medical supplies to treat 1400 people in two weeks, including making its own drinking water from raw or salt water. It can be swiftly erected in 90 minutes and arranged in different configurations depending on the space available and needs. It is easy to transport and gives great flexibility for the team to respond to different emergencies in remote locations.
This week at Trentham Military Camp, in Upper Hutt, the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) and New Zealand Medical Assistance Team (NZMAT) set up their medical facilities together for the first time.
The planning exercise, Exercise Kotahitanga, tested the organisations’ ability to respond together to the health impacts of a catastrophic event in Aotearoa New Zealand - such as the Alpine Fault or Hikurangi Trench rupturing.
The NZMAT fixed facility can treat up to 100 patients a day, while the mobile facility can reach remote areas and treat up to 50 people a day.
The NZDF facility, known as a ‘Role 2’, can be set up in a matter of hours and provides advanced trauma management and emergency medical treatment.
NZMAT - Camp health facility virtual walkthrough
This virtual walkthrough steps you through the facility. You can interact with it by looking in any direction using the arrow keys. There is also a floorplan (below the video) to help you check where you are – if you look down in the walkthrough, you will see a number corresponding to the floorplan.
Transcript to come
NZMAT Deployable Modules
NZMAT also has the capability to deploy the following modules either separately or as part of a Fixed Camp Facility:
- Forward Planning Team (FPT)
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Small team up to 3–4 personnel that provide health system needs assessment and site establishment role
- Deploy in under 12 hours from point of origin for a period of 5–7 days
- Provide assessment of potential NZMAT deployment needs and / or requirement
- Deploy with appropriate equipment and supplies adequate to their task Adhere to the EMT guiding principles and core standards
- NZMAT Specialist Cell – Surgical
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Small team(s) of up to 5–6 personnel that provide surgical support embedded:
- Within an existing theatre facility at local hospital in the country of deployment
- Deployed as part of Type-2 Fixed Camp Health Facility (ie, joint deployment with the Australian Medical Assistance Team (AUSMAT)
A surgical team(s) may deploy at the same time as Mobile Teams and / or the Fixed Camp Health Facility or as a stand-alone team(s).
A Surgical Team:
- Deploy within 24–48 hours from point of origin for a minimum period of 14 days
- Has a central base of operations leadership / coordination team
- Provides surgical theatre support & expertise to support ‘business as usual’ or surge capacity
- Operational during daylight hours only
- Deploy with minimal supporting consumables
- Adhere to the EMT guiding principles and core standards
- NZMAT Specialist Cell – IPC / Outbreak
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A team of clinical personnel (number determined by size of emergency) supported by a base of operations that provide infectious diseases support embedded within an existing health facility or EMT.
A IPC / Outbreak team may deploy at the same time as Mobile Teams and / or the Fixed Camp Health Facility or as a stand-alone team.
A IPC / Outbreak Team:
- Deploy within 24–48 hours from point of origin for a minimum period of 14 days
- Has a central base of operations leadership / coordination team
- Provides IPC / Outbreak expertise and support during a disease outbreak (ie, Measles)
- Operational during daylight hours only
- Deploys with minimal supporting consumables
- Adhere to the EMT guiding principles and core standards
- NZMAT Specialist Cell – Other
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NZMAT has the capability to deploy small teams of personnel that provide specialist clinical care embedded within existing health facilities or Emergency Medical Team.
Core Function Description Transport and Retrieval
Specialist transfer team for critically ill patients (in conjunction with host Ministry of Health)
Team of 4 personnel
Maternal Health
Specialist midwifery & obstetric surgical care team
Team of 6 personnel
Neonatal & Paediatrics
Specialist paediatric & neonatal care team
Team of 5 personnel
Burns
Specialist burns care team
Team of 4 personnel
Plastic / Wound Care
Specialist plastics / wound care team
Team of 4 personnel
Mental Health
Specialist mental health care team
Team of 6 personnel
Paramedic
Team of paramedics to provide support to host MoH / EMT
Team of 4 personnel
Radiology
Radiology support to host Ministry of Health / EMT
1 personnel or as required
Pathology
Pathology support to host Ministry of Health / EMT
1 personnel or as required
Pharmacy
Pharmacy support to host Ministry of Health / EMT
1 personnel or as required
- NZMAT Logistics & Coordination Cells
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NZMAT has the capability to deploy Small teams up to 6 personnel that provide specialist technical expertise embedded within host Ministry of Health.
Core Function Description EMT Coordination
Specialist team to assist with international EMT coordination & tasking (in support host MoH)
WHO EMTCC trainedMinimum 2 (embedded)
Minimum 4 (standalone)
Health Emergency Operations
Specialist transfer team to assist with coordination of health emergency operations management & immediate / priority assessment (in support host MoH)
Health EOC experience
Team of 4 personnel
Health Logistics & Infrastructure
Specialist technical trade team to assist with immediate repairs of critical health infrastructure (in consultation with host MoH)
Urban Search and Rescue experience
Team of 6 personnel