Health Emergency Management Unit Participates in Field Medical Hospital Training

Ms. Angelina Malcolm, Training Officer within the Health Emergency Management Unit (HEMU), recently participated in the Field Medical Hospital Training which was held in Barbados from 12^th-17^th May 2025. The workshop was organized by the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) in collaboration with the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).  In attendance were emergency responders and health care workers from all across the Caribbean.

The training focused on mass casualty management and the operations of emergency medical teams, preparing participants to respond effectively in high-pressure, disaster-related scenarios such as earthquakes, hurricane, and other events which can outstrip the capabilities of emergency services to respond in a normal way, and could prevent health care services from being provided in an adequate or timely manner. The training aimed to strengthen emergency response capacity across the region.

The objective was to increase the cadre of trained persons available for emergency deployment when faced with acute public health emergencies in the region and beyond. Equipping response teams with the specialized skills needed to operate field hospitals effectively was identified as a key priority. With the support from the European Union under the grant “11th EDF Programme of Support for Health System Strengthening for prevention and control of outbreaks of Communicable Diseases in the Caribbean”, this training for field medical teams to ensured readiness to manage complex health situations, such as sudden disease outbreaks, natural disasters, man-made emergencies, or incidents involving large crowds.

After the six (6) day training, a closing ceremony took place at the Barbados Defence Force Paragon Base where certificate was issued to participants.

Commenting on the experience, Ms. Malcolm stated that “While the training was physically and mentally demanding, this training welcomed me into an environment that imparted a large amount of information which sparked great interest and discussion with colleagues from some of our neighboring Caribbean countries, who shared their various experiences of disaster events. The excellent collaboration with and exposure to counterparts from across the Caribbean left me with a lasting impact which I hope to be able to use to contribute to the work of the Ministry of Health and Human Services through the HEMU.”