The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, today bid farewell at the Torrejón Air Base to more than 70 volunteers heading to Jamaica to work at the START emergency hospital. With the deployment of this field hospital, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through AECID, is responding to a request from the Jamaican authorities following the assessment of the damage caused by Hurricane Melissa.
Regarded as the strongest hurricane ever to strike Jamaica, Hurricane Melissa, a category 5 storm, has left an estimated 1.9 million people affected across the country, according to the latest figures. The island has reported severe flooding, landslides, and damage to infrastructure in central and western parishes.
“Spain has sought to respond with commitment and speed, and that is why today the Spanish Cooperation’s Emergency Medical Team is being deployed to address the humanitarian needs caused by this disaster”, the minister told the volunteers. He also highlighted the START hospital as “one of our most powerful humanitarian response tools, and one of which Spanish Cooperation is most proud”.
Technical and human team
The START hospital, operating at EMT-2 level, is capable of carrying out surgical interventions, is accredited by the World Health Organization (WHO), and is one of the emergency response capacities registered by AECID under the European Civil Protection Mechanism.
But, beyond the technical resources, Albares wanted to personally thank the dedication and spirit of service of all the medical and technical professionals who will be setting up a hospital “capable of providing high-quality healthcare in the most remote parts of the world, and with extraordinary speed”.
Over 70 volunteers
The START will be deployed at the same operating level as it was following the earthquake in Türkiye in 2023. It will be located near Falmouth Regional Hospital, in an area close to Montego Bay, one of the zones most affected by the impact of Hurricane Melissa. It will be staffed by more than 70 volunteers, including healthcare personnel from the national health system of twelve Autonomous Communities (Andalusia, Aragon, the Valencian Community, Cantabria, Castile-La Mancha, Castile and León, Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Madrid, Murcia, Navarre, and the Basque Country), as well as from the Autonomous City of Ceuta.
Joining them are logistics personnel from the Madrid City Fire Service, the ERICAM unit of the Madrid Region, and SUMMA 112, as well as staff from TRAGSA and from AECID’s Humanitarian Action Directorate, who will lead and coordinate the team’s missions.
This first group of volunteers will be relieved by more than 70 others in a second rotation in two weeks’ time.
Operating 24 hours a day
EMT-2 is a field hospital operating 24 hours a day, with surgical capacity and inpatient facilities for up to 24 people. It can treat an average of 200 people per day and perform up to seven major surgeries or 15 minor ones daily.
It comprises areas for triage, general emergency care, surgery, obstetrics, paediatrics, traumatology, physiotherapy, and psychology. It is also equipped with resuscitation and basic general anaesthesia units, and radiology services, and has its own laboratory, pharmacy, and equipment sterilisation facilities.
As a self-sufficient hospital in terms of drinking water and power generation, its operation under adverse conditions is guaranteed. In terms of waste management, the facility has the capacity to process 20 kilograms of solid waste per hour thanks to its incinerator.
Areas of intervention
According to the needs identified in the different countries, the main humanitarian areas of intervention in response to the emergency caused by Hurricane Melissa are: emergency shelter (damage assessment and assistance for evacuees); food assistance (distribution of food and drinking water); water and sanitation (restoration of services to prevent disease); medical care (field hospitals and medicines in response to epidemiological risks); infrastructure rehabilitation (reconstruction of homes and hospitals); and electricity (distribution of rechargeable lamps and portable generators).
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