© Shanghai EMT
In a bid to boost its response to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, China mobilized four out of five WHO classified Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs) to Wuhan, the centre of the epidemic, on 3 February 2020.
EMTs are teams of health professionals, usually made up of doctors, nurses and paramedics who treat patients needing medical care during an emergency. They come from governments, charities, the military and international organizations. These trained and self-sufficient medical teams come prepared to assist in international and national emergencies to avoid over burdening the local systems.
China has five WHO classified teams from Shanghai, Guangdong, Tianjin, Sichuan and Macao. The Shanghai, Guangdong, Sichuan, and Tianjin Emergency Medical Teams were deployed to Wuhan city. The Macao team supports activities within its region.
© Shanghai EMT
The China International Emergency Medical Team and the National Emergency Rescue Team of Shanghai were deployed to support the construction and the operation of the square-cabin hospital to address the rising number of cases and limited hospital beds.
© Shanghai EMT
The China EMT (Shanghai), classified by WHO in 2016, specializes in emergency medical responses in major emergencies and medical security during mass gatherings and events.
© Shanghai EMT
55 members of the Shanghai EMT arrived in Wuhan with 32 medical personnel, 23 logistics support personnel, a convoy of eight rescue vehicles and two supply vehicles.
© Sichuan EMT
The Sichuan team included doctors and nurses specializing in critical care medicine, infectious diseases, respiratory medicine, respiratory therapy, geriatrics, kidney medicine, cardiovascular medicine, rheumatism, Chinese medicine, and psychology, as well as hospital infection experts and medical engineers.
The Sichuan Emergency Medical Team dispatched more than 170 team members to Wuhan city. This team was responsible for the treatment of severe and critically ill patients in two Intensive Care Unit wards with 80 beds.
©Guangdong EMT
The Guangdong team deployed a 57 member team of medical doctors, nurses, pharmacists, medical technicians and logisticians and carried 31 tons of supplies on trucks to respond to the emergency.
© Sichuan EMT
Chinese Emergency Medical Teams helped set up and operate one of the fastest large-scale Chinese outbreak responses of its kind, in order to serve a surge of patients during the height of the outbreak.
© Shanghai EMT
The Chinese EMTs have a proud record of serving in international emergencies such as the Nepal earthquake, Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, and various emergencies.
Some of the Chinese EMTs are certified to provide intensive care, complex surgeries and a specialized rehabilitation service.