BETTERMENT
OF
HEALTH
CARE
DELIVERY
IN
ARMED
FORCES
AND
ECHS
-‐An
article
by
Dr.
D.
P.
Joshi,
DGAFMS
Armed
provide
Forces
Medical
Services
Primary,
comprehensive
state of Op- readiness in strategic
locations. More than 1000 health care
Secondary and Tertiary care health
services through a well established
delivery establishments such as MI
network
Rooms/Sick
of
establishments
starting
Bays/Station
Medical
from Peripheral MI rooms/ Station
Centres in various military stations
Medicare Centres/ Sick bays to apex
manned by the AFMS provide round
Tertiary care facilities. It is instrumental
the clock medical care to our clientele,
in providing quality health care to
including ECHS beneficiaries. AFMS
service personnel, their families and
also has more than 360 dental chairs
veterans and their families. AFMS has
to provide dental care to our clientele
the largest chain of more than 200
with ADC (R&R) Delhi as the apex
Hospitals for healthcare across the
dental care centre.
country with 9 major centres akin to
AFMS have always been the effective
the
Command
First responders for providing medical
Hospitals along with Base Hosp Delhi
aid in many disasters in our country
Cantt and Army Hospital (Research
and abroad. Our response in the
&Referral). These are all tertiary care
recent Uttarakhand flash floods and
hospitals. AFMS is planning to take the
cyclone Phailin had been timely and
next step by identifying more hospitals
extremely
as ‘Mini Ratnas’ for developing their
resulted in saving of lives but also
infrastructure. These hospitals will be
helped in post disaster rehabilitation of
developed into self contained pockets
the afflicted individuals..
of
The AFMS has metamorphosed itself
‘Navratnas’
excellence
medical
as
which
referrals
7
can
contain
within
its
efficient
that
not
only
with the changing times and has kept
zone/catchment area.
pace with the advances in medical
Military hospitals and Field Hospitals
sciences and technology.
also play a pivotal role in combat
focus is on continuous development in
medical care and are in a constant
three core areas of Human Resources,
Our main