WHAT:

On 9 October 2020, an EU-funded mobile hospital was set up in Bayonne, France to help the region’s hospitals coping with the increased number of patients due to the coronavirus.

This “mobile hospital” results from a cross-border cooperation project - the “EGALURG project”- co-financed under the Interreg Spain-France-Andorra (POCTEFA) programme. It was led by the Toulouse University Hospital (Occitania) in cooperation with Navarrabiomed – Miguel Servet Foundation (Navarre), the Emergency Medical Services of Catalonia and the Hospital Center of the Basque Coast in Bayonne (Nouvelle-Aquitaine).

WHERE:

The “Disaster Response Centre Mobile Hospital” was initially established in the emergency area of the hospital of Bayonne. Nonetheless, this field hospital is functional to be deployed in record time to anywhere along the French-Spanish-Andorra border.

HOW:

At first, the field hospital was conceived to create an operational network for cross-border cooperation in emergency and disaster medicine in areas where accessibility to public services is difficult. Before the COVID-19 crisis, this facility was meant to be back up in the event of disasters causing many injuries, such as terrorist attacks or natural catastrophes. At the time of the pandemic, the project partners decided to adapt and mobilise their hospital as a mobile unit to help in the fight against COVID-19.

RESULTS:

The Disaster Response Centre Mobile Hospital reinforces the capacity of hospitals located across the Spanish and French borders in their response to COVID and non-COVID health related issues. This field unit is prepared to accommodate 18 patients, including 8 in absolute priority. On top of that, its mobility across borders facilitates the access to health care services in less accessible areas.

Related links: https://egalurg.eu/the-project/

Have a look at these videos too: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-198839 and https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7xcgg1