Defence medical personnel trialled an alternative approach to combat casualty evacuation during Exercise Balikatan in the Philippines, marking the first overseas test of the concept.

The critical care patient transfer (CCPT) team, developed by the 2nd Health Battalion, is designed to bridge a gap in battlefield medicine by reducing reliance on aeromedical evacuation.

The three-person mobile unit, made up of a critical care medical officer, nursing officer and medical technician, can deliver advanced interventions such as intubation, ventilation and blood transfusion, while moving casualties in ground-based vehicles.

Lieutenant Colonel Noel Eatough, a critical care medical officer, said the team’s capabilities could provide care for those severely unwell, but in a mobile format.

He said for an exercise like Balikatan, where Australia relied on US aeromedical evacuation, a road move could be the quicker way to transfer patients between training areas about an hour’s drive apart.

“While a V-22 could be here in 20 minutes, they timed the road transfer from the receiving airport to the hospital at about 30 minutes – that’s getting close to being the same as evacuating by road,” Lieutenant Colonel Eatough said.

He said Defence’s reliance on aeromedical evacuation over the past five decades created a potential gap.

“There’s an emerging appreciation of the threats posed to aeromedical evacuation, especially near the frontline of any conflict,” he said.

“While our Role 2 Forward can conduct damage control surgery, and the Role 1 can provide limited critical care, without aeromedical evacuation you’ve got a series of nodes with nothing to connect them, particularly for those severely wounded.”

During Exercise Balikatan, the CCPT operated about an hour’s drive from Antonio Bautista Air Base, supporting jungle training activities with Australian, New Zealand, Filipino and American soldiers.

The team demonstrated its ability to integrate with Filipino civilian and military vehicles to move patients.

Exercise Balikatan is the largest annual warfighting drill between the Philippines and the United States.

Australia has participated since 2014.