Mobile Surgical Hospital and Mobile First Aid Station

Realized with the cooperation of the Undersecretariat for Defence Industries and Gama Holding, Turkey’s first mobile surgical hospital and mobile first aid station was delivered to the Turkish Armed Forces in a ceremony marking the event at the Fourth  Corps Command.

 

The Minister of National Defence M. Vecdi Gönül, Minister of Health Recep Akdağ, the Undersecretary for Defence Industries Murad Bayar, the Chairman of the Board of Gama Holding Ergil Ersu, military officials, Gama Holding personnel, distinguished guests and members of the press attended.

 

Speaking at the ceremony, the Minister of National Defence, M. Vecdi Gönül said that the mobile surgical hospital and mobile first aid station would meet an important need not only in the area of military operations but also in large scale natural disasters.

 

The minister of National Defence M Vecdi Gönül in his remarks stated that the mobile surgical hospital and mobile first aid station can also undertake all types of medical care that can takes place at an ordinary hospital. Expressing his view that the hospital with its military and civilian Turkish doctors and Turkish engineers is a product of their design, production and integration abilities, Gönül went on to add that: “Foreseen as a 30 bed hospital and with the improvements carried out, in terms of the point reached today, we foresee its capacity reaching 206 beds including personnel. On the other hand, since it was first built, the hospital with an area size of approximately a football field and possessing an emergency section ready in no more that 2 hours together with a first aid station ready for service within 1 hour and 15 minutes it is, in addition, worthy of commendation.”

 

Gönül also noted that in line with the objectives of the development of the defence industry and the modernization of the Turkish Armed Forces, efforts made in every area continues to provide concrete results.

 

Speaking at the ceremony, the Minister of Health, Recep Akdağ, noted that health services is a service that does not accept an interruption, that during the last 8 years he has been to all types of natural disaster areas and that the Turkish Armed Forces had arrived at the location rapidly in an organized manner and that they had worked shoulder to shoulder with civilian defence teams to serve citizens.

 

Akdağ also stated that today Turkey, with civilian as well as with military personnel may well be one of the few countries in the world that is ready for natural disasters and that within the national medical rescue squad made up of volunteers there were 2,700 health care personnel that having received a good level of training had undertaken many successful work both here and overseas.

 

At the present time, said Akdağ, within the Ministry of Health, 27 inflatable tent hospitals each with a 50 bed capacity were located in 11 regions and that various units in each of these hospitals provided emergency treatment, surgery, patient care, laboratory work and similar services.

 

Indicating that they had formed an air ambulance system approximately 2 years ago, Akdağ said: “We are providing services with 17 helicopters and 2 airplanes. During this period we transported over 5,000 of our citizens. We have only one thing lacking. We cannot undertake night flights. This is due to civil aviation regulations or preparedness. This problem is also to due to an aspect of our armed forces. We have to work together and resolve this issue.”

 

Speaking at the ceremony, Murad Bayar, Undersecretary for Defence Industries, stated that the tender for the project had opened in 2006, that Gama Holding had been selected as the primary contractor in 2007 and that a contract was signed on 26 September 2008 to this effect.

 

The system, noted Bayar, was designed to meet the electricity, water, food and shelter needs of citizens as well as medical needs and that, “With such a wide coverage, it is obvious that this not only fills a vital requirement of the Turkish Armed Forces but also fills an important gap for our nation.”

 

Bayar made it known that the mobile surgical hospital and the mobile first aid station were being introduced to the heads of states of friendly nations during their visit to Turkey and that the said system would be included to the list of exports in the near future.

 

Gama Holding Chairman Ergil Ersu said that the Gama Group with over 22,000 employees had successfully completed many projects both in Turkey and abroad and that the first metro line, the first high pressure pipeline and the first large scale build-operate-transfer project in Turkey as well as the on-going Istanbul Bosphorus Marmaray Tube Crossing Project are among the firsts they had realized, Ersu went on to say that they had included the mobile surgical hospital and the mobile first aid station to this list as well.

 

Stating that many important sections of the project were manufactured in Turkey, Ersu said that the project’s design work lasted 14 months and the acceptance period 5 months.

 

After the closing of remarks, the installation of the mobile surgery hospital tent was demonstrated in practice.

 

With the mobile surgery hospital and mobile first aid station, aside from natural disasters such as earthquakes and flooding, emergency interventions in extraordinary circumstances are able to take place.

 

In extraordinary circumstances during war or peace, the Mobile Surgical Hospital (SCH) realizes emergency, first aid, antihemorragic, life threatening, limb and organ saving advanced surgical procedures, where ill and wounded patients in intensive care are observed and discharge preparations takes place and which provides fully equipped mobile hospital services. The hospital’s emergency and surgery units can provide services after becoming functional in 2 hours.

 

As a separate system from the hospital, the Mobile First Aid Station (MİYİ) will provide services as a fully equipped first aid center where ill and wounded patients receive triage; where the slightly wounded undergo the necessary treatment and dispatched to the front line; critically wounded patients receive life saving emergency treatment; where advanced life support and antihemorragic surgery takes place and where patients are rapidly dispatched to hospitals and, to this end, evacuation preparations are carried out. The emergency service and surgery units of the MİYI can become functional within 1 hour and 15 minutes.

 

The system consists of inflatable type tents where the structure is made of aluminum, special steel alloy and steel container. All of the elements that make up the system, again within the project’s coverage, can be transported to service areas with tactical wheeled vehicles that are procured.

 

It has been notified that many of the components of the project were manufactured domestically. An important part of the detailed engineering work and all of the integration procedures took place in Turkey.

 

Realized through the joint cooperation of Gama Holding and the Undersecretariat for Defence Industries, the project will be a beacon of hope to patients in extraordinary circumstances with cutting-edge technology and rapid intervention.