Health emergencies can sometimes overwhelm the health care system of an affected community or region. If any jurisdiction in Ontario finds that it does not have the capacity to respond effectively to a health emergency, the EMAT may be requested to help through the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care's Emergency Management Branch.

The EMAT is a mobile medical field unit that can be deployed anywhere in Ontario with road access and within 24 hours. The EMAT can set-up a 56 bed unit that provides a staging and triage base, and has the capability to treat 20 acute care patients and 36 intermediate care patients. In addition, the EMAT can provide :

• Patient isolation in the case of an infectious diseases outbreak;
• Medical support and decontamination in the case of a chemical, biological or radiological incident; and
• Case management and triage of patients in a mass casualties situation

The EMAT is the first of its kind in Canada and is operated by Sunnybrook-Osler Centre for Prehospital Care at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre - a world expert in emergency and prehospital care"

For more information on the EMAT, including how to request the EMAT and the Criteria for Deployment, please use the menu on the left side of the page.

CritiCall Ontario provides a 24 hour call centre for hospitals to contact on-call specialists; arrange for appropriate hospital bed access and facilitate urgent triage for patients
1-800-668-4357

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