(A40) Military and Civilians in Australian Disaster Medical Assistance Teams

Abstract

The Australian Government first started to deploy civilian medical teams internationally in the aftermath of the 2004 Tsunami to Banda Aceh, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka. Historically, Australia had relied upon the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to provide overseas medical assistance, but, in this instance, the volunteers deployed were civilian staff, predominantly from tertiary hospital environments. Civilian Australian Medical Assistance Teams (AUSMATs), particularly in Banda Aceh, interacted closely with the ADF after the tsunami and have had a close liaison with the ADF in subsequent disasters, particularly where ADF assistance was required for aeromedical evacuation of patients. This has included assistance after the 2005 Bali bombing, the 2009 Ashmore Reef explosion, the 2009 Samoa tsunami, and the 2010 Pakistan floods. In the latter, Australia deployed a joint military-civilian medical taskforce to provide care to the affected people in Kot Addu in central Pakistan. Having had extensive experience in both military and civilian disaster responses, the authors in this presentation will look at the lessons that can be shared between civilian and military teams in the Australian context. The military brings particular proficiency in command and control, information gathering, security, communications, general logistics, aeromedical evacuation and living in the field. The civilian AUSMATs bring specialized medical expertise, experience in operating in small teams in a range of disaster conditions, health logistics, surveillance, and public health measures in a disaster setting. Learning how to blend these skill sets will be critical in ensuring effective and collaborative international deployments in the future.