When disasters, disease outbreaks or conflict overwhelm health services, people need expert healthcare fast.
But every emergency is different. That’s why our teams can deploy a range of adaptable medical capabilities; from mobile units that take primary care into hard-to-reach communities to field hospitals providing a permanent base for outpatient, inpatient and surgical care. Each is designed to work in challenging environments without adding pressure to local services.
Working alongside national health workers and partners, we combine speed and scale with compassionate, high-quality care. We listen, adapt and share learning so that our response meets urgent needs now while helping health services prepare for future crises. Here’s how three of our core capabilities make that possible:
What is a Type 1 Mobile Medical Unit?
It’s healthcare that can get to where it’s needed most.
When disasters or crises disrupt health services, mobile medical units help bring essential care closer to people in remote, rural or hard-to-reach communities.
Run by a team of a doctor, nurse, pharmacist and midwife, these self-sufficient temporary facilities provide primary healthcare for people who may otherwise struggle to reach support.
From Ukraine to Malawi and Jamaica, mobile medical units help keep care going when communities need it most.
What is a Type 1 Fixed Field Hospital?
It’s a self-sufficient health facility that provides primary healthcare in emergencies.
A GP surgery built to work in a crisis.
When conflict or disaster overwhelms hospitals, our teams deploy this facility, treating at least 100 outpatients a day without placing extra pressure on local health services.
UK-Med has used this capability in response to the earthquakes in Türkiye and Venezuela and the ongoing conflict response in Gaza, adapting care to what each community needs.
Because when crises hit, everyone should still be able to access quality healthcare.
What is a Type 2 Field Hospital?
It’s hospital-level emergency care, ready to deploy when local services are damaged, overwhelmed or inaccessible.
Alongside outpatient care, a Type 2 field hospital can provide inpatient wards, emergency surgery, advanced maternal care, laboratory services and a blood bank.
In 2024, UK-Med deployed a Type 2 field hospital in Gaza, working alongside local health staff to provide essential care in one of the world’s most challenging humanitarian emergencies.
UK-Med is ready to respond when crises hit, bringing expert healthcare to where it is needed, fast.
From a mobile medical unit reaching an isolated community to a field hospital delivering life-saving surgery, each capability gives UK-Med the flexibility to respond to what people need, where and when they need it.
But our work is about more than deploying equipment and expertise. By standing alongside national health workers, communities and partners, we support locally led responses, share learning and help build stronger, more resilient health systems that are better prepared for the next emergency.
As humanitarian needs grow, UK-Med will continue to act fast, adapt and deliver compassionate, high-quality care so that no one is left without healthcare when crisis hits.
