The Department of Health (DOH) deploys emergency response team as part of the Philippine Interagency Contingent to Adiyaman, Türkiye in February 2023. (Photo Courtesy: DOH)

Did you know that the Philippines has a dedicated team composed of 31 personnel that can be deployed to provide medical and public health services in times of disasters and public health emergencies? 

The group is none other than the Philippine Emergency Medical Assistance Team (PEMAT), which is composed of highly-trained medical professionals who are ready to respond to disaster-stricken areas 24/7.

To date, these heroes are striving to strengthen their power to help by meeting the classification and minimum standards for emergency medical teams (EMTs) set by the World Health Organization (WHO). 

What does it mean to be WHO-classified? 

The EMT Global Classification System is an “external peer review evaluation mechanism” that seeks to identify the compliance of EMTs to internationally agreed and accepted standards of healthcare delivery during emergency situations. 

This system was first used during Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) in 2013. 

The goal of standardizing the surge capacity and response mechanism of EMTs is motivated by the need to broaden their ability to support and care for affected populations in a wide range of conditions.  

This is to ensure that their healthcare delivery meets the standards and requirements for certain public health emergencies ranging from communicable to non-communicable diseases aside from sudden onset disasters and trauma. 

“[The mission of the EMT Initiative is] to enhance the surge capacity of countries through promotion of rapid mobilization and efficient coordination of both national and international medical teams and the health-care workforce to reduce loss of life and prevent long-term disability caused by disasters, outbreaks and other emergencies,” the EMT Initiative publication read. 

The certification will particularly help the PEMAT to establish a framework for safe, timely, equitable, and people-centered health services during local and international deployment. 

The Department of Health (DOH) issued Administrative Order No. 2018-008 to provide policy support for the mobilization of Health Emergency Response Teams (HERTs). 

As a country that is constantly at risk and vulnerable to various emergencies, the DOH recognizes the importance of improving the delivery of quality care and professional standards during EMT deployments. 

“During the course of response operations both locally and internationally, concerns on lack of coordination and communication, poor information, non-submission of reports, non-endorsement of HERTs for the continuity of care of victims, and teams arriving without right equipment, medicines, and supplies, and skills to match the need of the affected areas, among others were raised,” the national health department earlier said. 

These issues will be addressed by attaining the EMT Global Classification that is currently being pursued by the Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and Sanitarium (DJNRMHS), a tertiary government hospital in Tala, Caloocan City. 

DJNRMHS, better known as the Tala Hospital, is the only medical institution in Metro Manila that was selected by the DOH to pursue the classification initiative along with Jose B. Lingad Memorial General Hospital in Pampanga and Eastern Visayas Medical Center in Leyte. 

PEMAT’s journey 

DJNRMHS assistant chief nurse and Health Emergency Management Bureau head Eric John Capito underscored that during disasters and other emergencies, the EMT’s willingness to serve the most vulnerable is not enough, especially if they are not equipped with the right skills and necessary means. 

“Good intentions are not enough. Since magre-respond tayo sa disaster, dapat quality pa rin yung ipo-provide natin na care,” said Capito. 

(Good intentions are not enough. Since we are going to respond to disasters, we should provide quality care.) 

The PEMAT is classified as EMT Type 1-Fixed. This means that it operates through a self-sufficient system with outpatient facilities and a tented structure in place. Its package of services includes: 

• Outpatient initial care of injuries and other health-care needs and referrals for ongoing investigation or care and community-based primary care from a fixed location 
• Intensive care, blood transfusion services, and medical imaging and reporting 
• Daytime outpatient services but on-call team available to provide life-saving care overnight for emergency cases 

Overview of PEMAT’s camp layout. (Photo Courtesy: DJNRMHS)

The camp layout of PEMAT has a total land area of 3,472 square meters that are divided into clinical, logistics, wash, and non-clinical areas which can accommodate at least 100 patients daily for a minimum of 14 days. 

Aside from these facilities, PEMAT also has a dedicated information system (PIS) as a data management tool which ensures accurate and efficient submission of daily reports during deployments. It likewise generates graphs with an automated basic analyzation mechanism that aids in the surveillance of public health concerns. 

PEMAT began its journey towards becoming globally certified EMT back in 2018. Unfortunately, the process was temporarily halted because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

To date, PEMAT has been able to accomplish four of the EMT Global Classification’s 8-step pathways. These are Expression of Interest to be classified, Self-Assessment in accordance with guiding principles to identify starting point and gaps, Mentor Assignment to support the entire classification process, and Mentorship Process for review of compliance to core and technical standards. 

On April 22, 2024, PEMAT will be embarking on the 5th step of the classification process which is the Pre-Verification Visit. This step will evaluate the capability of PEMAT to meet the required minimum standards for EMT Global Classification by presenting a complete evidence package, which includes the setting up of PEMAT’s actual camp layout. 

Upon reaching consensus on the minimum standards, PEMAT will proceed to the last three (3) steps awaiting Verification Visit and International Registration to follow Reclassification after 5 years. 

Attaining the EMT Global Classification will not only make PEMAT deployable in terms of delivering quality healthcare services but also help enable the development of a more responsive health system for Filipinos and other nations. (JMP/PIA-NCR)