The critical role of National Critical Care Trauma Response Centre teams

The Northern Territory is home to the globally recognised National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre (NCCTRC), a specialised training facility established and funded by the Australian Government to enhance Australia’s response to sudden-onset disaster and emergency events, locally, nationally and internationally.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the invaluable health work undertaken by the Centre’s personnel, who operate as Australian Medical Assistance Teams (AUSMAT). These multidisciplinary teams include doctors, nurses, paramedics, logisticians and allied health staff such as radiographers and pharmacists. Their dedication and professionalism have drawn immense gratitude and appreciation Australia wide, as they disperse throughout the country to assist in COVID-19 hotspots.

Assignments include providing support for the Victorian Aged Care Response Centre, encompassing 149 visits to 71 aged-care facilities across Melbourne (as at late August), where teams work with facility staff to assess procedures and boost infection preventions and control.

An AUSMAT mission to Perth supported the quarantining of crew and passengers from the German cruise ship MV Artania, as well as the Vasco Da Gama on Rottnest Island in WA. In north-west Tasmania, essential emergency care services were provided by an AUSMAT team during a COVID-19 outbreak.

In collaboration with NT Health and the Australian Defence Force, NCCTRC teams also assisted with the screening of US Navy and Marine personnel arriving in Darwin, prior to their 14-day quarantine.

Northern Territory Business Events, the official convention bureau for the Northern Territory, works closely with the NCCTRC to promote the important role undertaken by the Centre and its teams. Business events planners are invited to tour the Centre’s warehouse facilities with a view to including the facility as a technical tour or featuring NCCTRC personnel as keynote conference speakers.

Image caption: Abigail Trewin, Director of Disaster Preparedness and Response at the NCCTRC, meets with a group of business events planners visiting the organisation’s Darwin warehouse.