With a view to facilitate country’s space programme, the Bengaluru-based Institute of Aviation Medicine (IAM) has signed a MoU with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). As per agreement the IAM will evaluate the fitness of persons boarding the spacecraft.
The medical services of the Indian Armed Forces will be geared up in the border areas and remote locations where radio-sets are only mode of communication. Trials for tier-I telemedicine to help medical casualty in forward areas have been completed and ready for use and the work on tier-II telemedicine is in progress
More facilities will be developed for treatment of soldiers in bunkers in border areas. A project on ‘Biothreat Mitigation Tecnologies Programme has been approved and construction of a Casualty Decontamination Centre (CDC) will be set up in the National Capital Region (NCR).
To provide a scientific method of identifying dead soldiers, sailors or airmen by DNA profiling of the available body parts have been taken up in the DNA labs in Armed Forces Medical Colleges (AFMCs). A stress management centre has been set up by the Indian Navy at Vishakhapatnam. This Centre will also conduct psychological post-mortem of those who committed suicide.
“Our Armed Forces Medical College In Pune will have 200 additional beds for treatment of civilians,” said the Director General of Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS), Air Marshal DP Joshi.
He said that as per the verdict of the Supreme Court, a person meeting casualty can approach nearest hospital for treatment – bet it a civilian hospital or a military hospital.
“We will allow treatment of civilians in all our nine training centres,” he said.
Air Marshal Joshi said that AFMS has embarked its modernization programme and now provides advanced and specialized treatment for heart, lungs, kidney diseases, cancer. It also has facilities for joint replacement, artificial limbs, liver, kidney, bone marrow transplant, cochlear implants and assisted reproduction to its entitled clientele at larger hospitals.
With human resources of about 6,000 medical officers, 600 dental officers, 300 AMC (NT) officers, 4,500 nursing officers, 55,000 soldiers, sailors and airmen, the AFMS is one of the largest healthcare organization.
The AFMS is providing hospitals to the United Nations programmes. It has helped in setting up of a 25-bed hospital in Male in the Maldives. A team of medical officers was sent to Kyrgyzstan to provide training to Krgyz medical and nursing staff to be deployed in UN Peace Keeping Forces. A team was also sent to Bangladesh as part of the exchange programme.
AFMS set set up a a level-II hospital at the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting plus and HADR/Military Medicine Exercise at Burnei from June 10-22, 2013. It was also involved in disaster management in the Philippines after the cyclone.. At present it is providing medical aid to Syria, Nicararagua, Maldives, Philippines and Nepal and SAARC countries.
At home the AFMS did yeomen service during the Uttarakhand tragedy and was positioned in Odisha during the post-Phailin cyclone.
NEW YEAR RESOLVE : Indian Armed Forces to extend medical services to civilians, foreign countries
ASHOK B SHARMA - 2013-12-31 14:07
New Delhi: Come the first day of Circa 2014. The Indian Army Medical Corps will be celebrating its 250th anniversary with a determination to extend its services to civilians and para-military forces. The medical services of the Indian Armed Forces are likely to be extended to more friendly countries apart from their existing works in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Maldives, Syria, Nicaragua, Philippines, Nepal, Sudan. There will be increased allotment of seats to students from friendly foreign countries in graduate and post-graduate courses in armed forces medical institutes.