ABSTRACT

NMRT (National Medical Rescue Teams) are made up of health workers and were set up to provide medical rescue services to victims of disasters and emergencies of all kinds, both domestic and international. There are approximately 2400 NMRT personel across Turkey who have received NMRT training and are ready to take part in active medical rescue operations. In the light of the Ministry of Health planning, a NMRT was established within the body of the Trabzon Health Directorate in 2005. The Trabzon NMRT completed basic training in May 2011, being constituted of a 30-member team providing planned medical training and field operations. In addition to its many previous activities, the Trabzon NMRT rescued a total of six Van earthquake victims, two of whom were children, alive from the rubble. The recent Van Erciş earthquake has demonstrated how essential organizations consisting of volunteers are in supporting official institutions in a country such as Turkey, which scientific data and statistics clearly reveal to be prone to disasters.

Keywords: NMRT, National Medical Rescue, Van earthquake, disaster