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Afield hospital is a temporaryhospital or mobilemedical unit that takes care ofcasualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities.[1] This term was initially used inmilitary medicine but it has also been used to describealternate care sites used in disasters and other emergency situations.[2]
A field hospital is a medical staff with a mobile medical kit and, often, a widetent-like shelter (at times an inflatable structure in modern usage) so that it can be readily set up near the source of casualties. In an urban environment, the field hospital is often established in an easily accessible and highly visible building (such asrestaurants,schools,hotels and so on). In the case of an airborne structure, the mobile medical kit is often placed in a normalized container; the container itself is then used as shelter. A field hospital is generally larger than a temporaryaid station but smaller than a permanentmilitary hospital.
International humanitarian law such as theGeneva Conventions include prohibitions on attackingdoctors,ambulances,hospital ships, or field hospitals buildings displaying aRed Cross, aRed Crescent or other emblem related to theInternational Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement; deliberately attacking or otherwise causing harm on these health facilities (especially during warfare or armed conflicts) may constitute awar crime.
Field hospitals are also prevalent in the event ofdisease outbreaks andpandemics. The most recent pandemic,COVID-19, has led to the establishment of field hospitals in many parts of the world, especially in thedeveloping world.
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Field hospitals inFrance are managed by theSAMU (Frenchemergency medical service). Two types of mobile medical kits (poste sanitaire mobile or PSM) are used:
The PSM are stored in the hospitals where there aresamus andsmurs.
The PMA is organized in four zones:
In case of really massive disaster, it is possible to have several PMA; the evacuation goes then not directly to a hospital, but to another big field hospital called "medical evacuation centre" (centre médical d'évacuation, CME), to avoid the saturation of the hospitals.
In case of ared plan, the PMA is under the responsibility of a physician chosen by the director of medical rescue (DSM), and he is assisted by afirefighter officer chosen by the commander of rescue operation (COS). The firefighter officer has in charge the identification of the living casualties and of the secretaryship. The aim of the PMA is to sort and stabilize the casualties before their evacuation to a hospital.
A similar system can be set up as a preventive measure for some very big events (sport championship, cultural events, concert...), but managed by first aid associations. It is then called an "associative medical post" (poste associatif médicalisé, PAM). (For smaller events, is simplefirst aid post, with only volunteercertified first responders and no medical staff, is set up.)
The civil defence military units (Unité d'instruction et d'intervention de la sécurité civile,UIISC) have airborne field hospitals. The general system is calledDICA (détachement d'intervention de catastrophe aéroporté, i.e. airborne disaster unit), and is specialized insearch-and-rescue and in emergency medicine; it can be enhanced by the Fast civil defence medical unit, called ESCRIM (élément de sécurité civile rapide d'intervention médicale). The ESCRIM is a surgical unit (detachement d'appui chirurgical) assisted by a medical assistance unit (DAMHo,détachement d'appui médical et d'hospitalisation); the later is specialized in pre- and post-operation care, and allows 48h of hospitalization. The UIISC also has a PMA (i.e. sort, stabilization and evacuation structure) when the hospital infrastructure of the country is sufficient.
TheNamibian Defence Force operates a mobile field hospital through its Defence Health Services Directorate. It was donated by theGerman government to Namibia in March 2013. Initially it was a UN level two hospital but has now been upgraded to level one. The field hospital is containerized in tents, it has capacity to treat forty outpatients per day and has an admission capacity of twenty patients. It has twointensive care units, laboratories, anX-ray unit and a mobile oxygen concentrator.[3] The dental department can treat 20 and four operations can be carried out daily. It has its own mobile logistics support wing consisting of kitchens, water purifiers, water tanks, toilet and shower containers, generators and sewage and refuse disposal facilities.
During theCOVID-19 pandemic the hospital was deployed toHosea Kutako International Airport to aid the country's response.[4]
Medical services in the British armed services date from the formation of the Standing Regular Army after the Restoration of Charles II in 1660. Prior to this, from as early as the 13th century there are records of surgeons and physicians being appointed by the English army to attend in times of war. Field hospitals are now provided by theRoyal Army Medical Corps (Royal Army Medical Service as from November 2024).
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In theUnited States Army Medical Department, the term "field hospital" is used as a generic term for a deployable medical facility. However, from 1906 to the present, with small interruptions, the department has had specific organized units called "Field Hospitals." These numbered units, for example the10th Field Hospital have specific tables of organization and equipment, capabilities, and doctrine for their employment, all of which have varied over time. Readers should take care not to confuse the generic American field hospital with a specific numbered XXth Field Hospital, as the two cannot be used interchangeably. An Evacuation Hospital, aMobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH), aCombat support hospital (CSH), a Field Hospital and a numbered General Hospital are all field hospitals—but a MASH, CSH, a General Hospital or a Field Hospital are not interchangeable.[6]
In theUnited States NavyBureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED), the counterpart to the Army's "field hospital" is known as an "Expeditionary Medical Facility" (EMF). The EMF is principally focused on support toMarines during expeditionary amphibious operations ashore, the Marine Corps having no medical personnel of their own and relying on the Navy for medical support. EMFs will also support Navy Construction Battalions (SeaBees) ashore. While the Navy has a small number of dedicatedhospital ships and larger combatant vessels such asaircraft carriers and large deckamphibious assault ships have robust medical facilities, the utility of those afloat platforms decreases the further inland that the Marines progress. A smaller and more mobile version of the EMF is the Expeditionary Medical Unit (EMU).[7]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic, theSwiss Armed Forces were mobilised to supportcivil hospitals in Switzerland. Similar measures were taken in other countries.
Bangladesh Field Hospital (Popularly known asBangladesh Hospital) was a temporary medical centre under the Sector-2 during theLiberation War of Bangladesh in 1971. The hospital was an initiative of Captain Akhtar Ahmed, who was a physician of 4th East Bengal Regiment in Comilla Cantonment. It was situated inTripura,India.
During theCOVID-19 pandemic, the young physician Dr. Bidduth Barua establishedChattogram Field Hospital which is the first post-liberation field hospital in Bangladesh to provide medical services to COVID-19 patients of Covid-19. OnApril 21 2020, the hospital officially started medical services.. A team of doctors, nurses and Young Volunteer are providing services in this hospital under the leadership of Dr. Bidduth Barua. Originally complete with Covid-19 patients In addition to providing free services, other patients are also being served here. Although fever, cold, sneeze and cough are predominant in patients, any patient can avail free services from here.
Field hospitals were mobile, were sent to support the battle line—as was the 103d—and served in every capacity, from disease hospital to resuscitation center to acute care (with surgical reinforcement) to reserve and rest status. Their job was triage, stabilization, and evacuation to the base hospitals.
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromJohn T. Greenwood.Portable Surgical Hospitals.United States Army.
Media related toField hospitals at Wikimedia Commons
