EMAT

The Army Advance Medical Echelons are defined as light, modular, autonomous and airborne rapid response Medical Units; in other words, with capabilities of lending medical support in classification (determining the graveness of the wounded), stabilisation (emergency medicine) and emergency surgical treatment in any situation, anywhere. 

The aim of these units is to shorten treatment initiation time for priority 1 casualties, those who would lose their lives without immediate treatment.

It is also indispensable to stabilise casualties in order to facilitate evacuation, if this were necessary.

These emergency actions define the principal mission of the EMAT: provide vital advance support and combat orthopaedics to a brigade type unit. In this way the Army Advance Medical Echelons lend support to the units with which they are deployed, in combat operations as well as in manoeuvres or peacekeeping missions.

This support is materialised through permanent alert, action within four hours and deployment capability, in national territory as well as abroad (projection capability), and is made effective through prevention, injury diagnosis and treatment, as well as the supply of medical resources.

Taking into account that the main aim of EMAT is life saving through immediate actions, it will always have forward deployment (front line).

Thus, the Army Advance Medical Echelons are capable of handling, daily, twenty priority 1 casualties, performing up to ten lifesaving surgical operations and hospitalising up to twenty wounded.

Belonging to the Medical Department (DISAN) of the Army, the EMAT are regulated by Instruction 302/98 from the Chief of Staff of the Army.

This establishes the organisation of the three existing EMAT: the EMAT-North located at the Oraz Cajigas Military Hospital in Zaragoza, the EMAT-Centre, at the Gómez Ulla Central Military Hospital in Madrid and the EMAT-South, located at the Vigil de Quiñones Military Hospital in Seville.