(A235) Australian Medical Assistance Teams in Australia

Abstract

Western Australia (WA) was one of the first states in Australia to deploy medical team members to the tsunami-stricken regions of the Maldives and Banda Aceh in 2004. This early experience led the WA Department of Health to develop and pilot these teams locally and to progress a national model for their future development, which could be implemented further by other Australian jurisdictions. Further experience with these teams in Yogyakarta after the 2006 Java earthquake, Karratha after Tropical Cyclone George in 2007, Ashmore Reef after the 2009 boat explosion, Samoa after the 2009 tsunami, and during the Pakistan floods in 2010 have signaled both the utility of the Australian Medical Assistance Teams (AUSMATs) and the commitment by the Australian Commonwealth and State Governments to utilize these teams in both domestic and international settings. This presentation will examine the implementation of the AUSMAT model in Australia over the last five years, the modifications to the original model to suit the unique geographical and resource challenges faced by Australian teams, both within and outside Australia, and the lessons learned from recent team deployments. The challenges of delivering health care over vast, sparsely populated distances, and the inherent and increasing natural and industrial disaster threats in the Asia-Pacific region, have contributed to the modification of the model to ensure that the AUSMATs are flexible, modular, and capable of responding to a variety of major incidents. The national model continues to evolve to ensure that well prepared, equipped and trained civilian AUSMATS remain able to effectively deploy to a mass casualty situation in Australia's area of interest.