The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Military Central Hospital Gómez Ulla in Madrid doubled its beds
(from 16 to 33) for the care of COVID-19 patients.
sent to the various competent Ministries.
Those that were approved were sent to
the MOPS, where analyst officers, on duty
24 hours a day, studied them in order to
determine the most appropriate personnel
and means. Subsequently, one of the four
Component Commands —Army, Navy, Air
Force and Emergencies— was assigned
to intervene, and they, in turn, designated
the unit that would provide assistance. The
MOPS would then monitor and conduct
the interventions.
The Armed Forces’ adaptation to
Operation Balmis, which was unlike any
previous experience, was not improvised;
the daily use of the permanent operations
structure greatly facilitated its
almost total transposition into this
operation.
HEALTHCARE SUPPORT
Qualitatively, the main contribution
of the Defence Ministry in this
crisis consisted of healthcare
support and increasing hospital
bed capacity. The Armed
Forces supported the National
Healthcare System, through
the collaboration of military
hospitals (they attended to over
5,000 COVID-19 emergencies,
with 1,400 hospitalizations), the
provision of medical supplies
and equipment to civilian
hospitals, the deployment of psychological
and veterinary support teams, the
reinforcement of basic and advanced
vital transportation capabilities in various
provinces and the timely provision of
medical assistance in nursing homes that
lacked such personnel.
Among the healthcare capabilities
provided, the ones that stand out are
those on board the ship Galicia sent to
Ceuta and Melilla and the integration of
the Air Force Medical Deployment Support
Unit (UMAAD) into the field hospital at
Madrid’s international trade fair centre
(IFEMA), which served as an overflow for
the city’s healthcare network at the height
of the pandemic.
At the end of March, the UMAAD
installed six ICU critical patient stations at
IFEMA in just twelve hours, the first of their
kind at the field hospital, and provided
the ICU with stretchers to move patients
and 30 conventional beds, in addition
to the 50 beds supplied by the Army’s
1st Medical Group. In addition, the latter
advised on medical and logistic issues
in setting up the hospital, which also
involved the participation of members of
the 11th Specialist Engineer Regiment from
Salamanca, the Parachute Brigade, the
12th Brigade Guadarrama, etc.
The Armed Forces also contributed
to the assembly and maintenance of a
shelter at Barcelona’s trade fair centre;
the installation of field hospitals in Alcalá
de Henares (Médécins Sans Frontières),
Sabadell and Segovia; and the provision
of advice on the hospital in Loeches, etc.
Field hospital material was provided to
several hospitals in Madrid such as the 12
de Octubre, Gregorio Marañón,
La Paz and Ramón y Cajal; and
to hospitals in Albacete, Alcorcón,
Getafe, Leganés, León, Melilla,
Las Palmas, Oviedo, and the Tres
Mares hospital in Reinosa.
In addition to these actions,
the efforts of the Military Healthcare
Network and the interventions
of the Inspectorate-General for
Defence Health should be taken
into account. Thus, Madrid’s
Military Central Hospital Gómez Ulla
increased its beds by 51%, 450%
in the emergency department and
277% in the ICU; and Zaragoza’s
military hospital Orad y Gajías
increased its beds from 97 to 189
Most of the
disinfection
operations were
carried out in
nursing homes
Pepe Díaz
Personnel from the Health Logistic Support Unit (UALSAN) prepare
a cargo of disinfectant for the units.
UALSAN
10 Revista Española de Defensa August 2020