Army Medical Corps

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ARMY MEDICAL CORPS

Sarve Santu Niramayah

Introduction

The Army Medical Corps (AMC) came into existence as a homogeneous corps of officers and men on the pattern of the Royal Army Medical Corps on 03 April 1943 by the amalgamation of the Indian Medical Service, the Indian Medical Department and the Indian Hospital Corps. The Corps was formed as a wartime necessity for attracting suitably qualified men for service in a rapidly expanding army. The medical services of the Army not only attend to the sick and wounded, but also perform the equally important task of prevention of diseases and practice social hygiene on a large scale. The service aims at increasing the battle efficiency of the soldier and towards that end is interested in increasing his powers of resistance to the various diseases.

The AMC concerns itself with every department of the soldier's life - the various conditions in which a soldier lives or may be expected to live, the conditions and degree of physical stress & strain that a soldier can undergo and the clothes and equipment that a soldier uses. The Corps is organised on the most advanced lines and has well earned the name it deserves. The Army has its own hospitals which are some of the best equipped in the country. It has its own nursing services that provide its own nurses for all military hospitals. During operations general hospitals are made to meet the requirements in the field. All units up to a battalion level are provided with doctors on their establishment who accompany them on their active service. There is also a very organised chain for the evacuation of casualties from the field to the base hospitals in the rear areas. The Corps has some of the highest qualified specialist medical officers in medicine, surgery, dermatology, orthopaedics and so on.

The AMC not only takes care of the serving personnel and their families but also pays equal importance in providing medical care to the ex-servicemen and their families. In order to meet the demand of the ever growing population of the ex-servicemen and their families, 31 MI rooms and 10 dental centres have been opened in various places based on the density of ex-servicemen population. These MI rooms and dental centers are funded from the welfare funds of the Army. In addition to this, medical camps are conducted in remote areas to provide treatment to the ex-servicemen population settled in the far flung areas. The AMC also provides treatment to the serving personnel and ex-servicemen and their families settled in Nepal through the medical welfare teams. Every year the army sends 13 teams consisting of medical specialists. Eye specialists and dental officers in addition to other para-medical staff. The medicines are provided free of cost. The eye teams also perform eye operations including cataract surgery and provide free eyeglasses to the patients.

Training Institutions

The medical, dental, nursing and para-medical personnel of the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) are trained in own institutions of repute;

Armed Forces Medical College, Pune: In December 1941 in IHC-VCOs (Indian Hospital Corps-Viceroy Commissioned Officers) and NCOs (Non Commissioned Officers) school was established with No.3 Indian Hospital Corps battalion in Pune which later evolved into the Army Medical Training Centre (AMTC) in January 1942. The AMTC was the forerunner of the present Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) at Pune, which was raised on 01 May 1948. The college started its under-graduate wing on 04 August 1962. AFMC is a premier medical institution responsible for training under-graduate and postgraduate doctors. The selection of under-graduate students is made on basis of an open all-India entrance examination. In addition, a number of military hospitals have also been recognised for imparting postgraduate training and are affiliated to various universities.

The training of nursing officers is conducted at College of Nursing, Pune for BSc Nursing and various nursing schools for a diploma in nursing. The training of para-medical staff is conducted at the Army Medical Corps Centre & School in Lucknow, the Armed Forces Medical College in Pune and various military hospitals. In addition the Officers' Training School, Lucknow, imparts training to medical officers, nursing officers and non-technical officers in military science, military medicine, general administration and so on. A continuous and systematic upgradation of training is conducted for the para-medical staff to ensure career prospects and rehabilitation in civil after retirement. The other ranks are given adequate opportunities to be selected as officers through the Army Cadet College (ACC) and the Indian Military Academy (IMA). The JCOs and other ranks are also given opportunities to be commissioned in the AMC (Non-Technical) cadre through the Service Selection Board (SSB).

AMC Centre and School, Lucknow: It has originated from the No.2 Company of Indian Hospital Corps (IHC). In May 1941, the until was enlarged and reorganised as No.2 Indian Hospital Corps Battalion. In 1942, the battalion was re-designated as No.2 Training and Depot Centre when the training facilities of the unit were enlarged and in February 1947, it was re-designated as Indian Army Medical Corps Centre (North). The designation of Army Medical Corps Centre (North) was given in 1950. The No.3 Company of IHC was enlarged and reorganised into the No.3 Battalion of IHC which was subsequently re-designated as Indian Army Medical Corps Centre (South) in 1947 and later on Army Medical Corps Centre (South).

Army Medical Corps Centre, Lucknow was formed as a result of amalgamation of AMC Centre (North) with AMC Centre (South) in 1957. Due to the 1962 Indo-Sino war and with the decision by the Government of India to increase the strength of the armed forces, the necessity arose for an additional centre for the Army Medical Corps. Consequently the Army Medical Corps Centre (South) was established at Hyderabad in December 1962. The Centre at Lucknow was re-designated as Army Medical Corps Centre (North). Both the centers at Lucknow and Hyderabad were reorganised in January 1963, in that the training battalions were split into Military Training and Technical Training battalions. In 1967, the AMC Centre (South) was merged with AMC Centre (North) to form the AMC Centre, Lucknow. With the increase in scope of training of Officers of the Corps, both technical and non-technical, the officer training wing of the AMC Centre was reorganised as Officers Training School and became a Category 'A' establishment on 09 August 1969. Consequently the AMC Centre was re-designated as AMC Centre and School.

Modernisation & Future

The AMC has in the post war period extended its scope to include initially the immediate families and thereafter the dependents of service personnel. Since October 1966, ex-servicemen have also become entitled to treatment in the service medical facilities, this has now been extended to the families of ex-servicemen also. These commitments have been undertaken with no increase in the workforce. The rapid technical changes in the past two decades and the commitments of the Corps to provide a cradle-to-grave service have necessitated diversification in the fields hitherto unexplored in many military medical services e.g. coronary artery surgery, renal transplantation, malignant diseases treatment, etc. The time is now for the Corps to taking over commitment in the geriatric field also. The Corps along with its affiliated sister services in the Navy and Air Force are the major facility with the Government to affect its welfare activity for serving and retired defence personnel.

The Armed Forces Medical Services are intimately integrated with the National Health Program and provide efficient preventive & curative coverage to all its members. The AIDS control program is being taken up in a big way to meet the challenge of the day. The existing specialised treatment facilities for heart, lung and kidney diseases and cancer treatment facilities available at limited places and extended through reputed civil institutions are now being planned to be extended to major military stations in the country, with a view to make them available within easy reach of troops and their families. The handicapped children of the armed forces personnel, who need special care are cared for in the various centres opened under the guidance and patronage of the President, Army Wives Welfare Association. The existing facilities in military hospitals are utilised to provide succour, relief and rehabilitation to this vulnerable population to make them self-reliant and bring them into the main stream of life.

Earthquake Victims in Gujarat

The recent earthquake in Gujarat on 26 January 2001 has caused massive devastation to people and property. The catastrophe cost thousands of lives and many people were rendered homeless. The Army Medical Corps were the first to provide immediate organised medical relief under the most difficult circumstances in devastated areas of Gujarat, specially areas in and around Bhuj. Military Hospital, Bhuj played a pioneering role to shed off its personal losses of structural damage and damage to equipment to rise to the call of duty immediately, to provide immediate succour to the dying and the wounded. The vacuum created by overstretched civil administration, destruction of civil hospital Bhuj and unorganized distribution of civil medical relief teams was effectively countered by Army Medical Corps which fanned out into remote rural areas. Without loss of time, the Army Medical Corps reinforced their efforts by deploying seven mobile medical units comprising of 70 medical officers, including lady medical officers and 1400 paramedics who worked round the clock for the victims of the earthquake. The army medical relief included mobile surgical teams, one mobile operation theatre on wheels airlifted from Pune, two preventive medicine specialists and 12 dental officers. In addition to Military Hospital, Bhuj seven field medical units were deployed at Bhuj, Khavda, Bachau, Morvadra, Anjar and Somakhiali. The medical teams were beefed up with surgical teams from various service hospitals. From the above medical units, nine medical teams fanned out in quake affected rural areas.

The service doctors and medical teams attended to approximately 27,880 casualties, 2191 major operations and 5741 minor operations were performed. In addition, 2802 plaster of Paris casts were applied. 264 patients requiring further specialised care were evacuated to various service hospitals of Pune, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Jamnagar and Mumbai. The service medical stores depots replenished expendable and non-expendable medical stores of all medical units and medical teams. Preventive medicine specialists moved into the affected areas with spraying squads along with supplies of hygiene chemicals to undertake necessary disinfections and disinfestations, and prevent outbreaks of communicable diseases in Army camps and also Army-managed civil camps. Impending outbreaks of gastroenteritis, food poisoning and chicken pox amongst displaced civilians at Adhau was effectively controlled. The speed of spontaneity and meticulous precision by which the relief was organized to counter the fury of nature was true to the military traditions and at the cost of own personal comfort. The missionary zeal and unquestionable professionalism expressed by the Army Medical Corps relief teams showed undisputed solidarity with their motto - Sarve Santu Niramayah.