The Armed Force Medical Services (AFMS) is an inter services organisation under the

Ministry of Defense {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

, covering the

Indian Armed Forces The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by ...

. It came into existence in 1948. The Director General Armed Forces Medical Services (in the rank of Lt Gen or equivalent) is the head of the Armed Forces Medical Services and is responsible to the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

for the overall medical policy in so far as they relate to the Armed Forces.

History

In March 1947 a committee named “''Armed Forces Medical Services and Research Integration Committee''” headed by Dr BC Roy was appointed by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

to consider the integration of the three medical services and medical research in the three services. The Committee recommended that there should be three branches of the Indian Armed Forces Medical Services i.e.

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

and

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

and that there should be a Supreme Controller of all the three Medical Services designated as Director General of the Armed Forces Medical Services (DGAFMS) who would be the advisor to the Supreme Commander or the

Defence Minister A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

as the case may be, regarding the medical needs of the

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. He will be the administrative head of the Armed Forces Medical Services. Accordingly, the Government in 1948 integrated the medical services of the

Royal Indian Navy The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) was the naval force of British India and the Dominion of India. Along with the Presidency armies, later the Indian Army, and from 1932 the Royal Indian Air Force, it was one of the Armed Forces of British India. Fr ...

, the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

and the

Royal Indian Air Force The Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) was the aerial force of British India and later the Dominion of India. Along with the Indian Army, and Royal Indian Navy, it was one of the Armed Forces of British Indian Empire. The Indian Air Force was offi ...

into the Armed Forces Medical Service and placed the services under the Director General Armed Forces Medical Services with the rank of

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

/ Vice Admiral / Air Marshal. The Government also laid down the role and character of responsibilities of DGAFMS. The DGAFMS was made directly responsible to the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

for overall medical policy matters in so far as they relate to the Armed Forces. The Government further laid down that the heads of medical services of Army, Navy and Air Force will be responsible for functioning of these services under the respective Service Chiefs in accordance with any general policy directions that may be given by the DGAFMS. The charter has since been amended and updated from time to time.

Organization

The Director General Armed Forces Medical Services heads the entire AFMS. The Director Generals of Medical Services of Army, Navy and Air Force are responsible for overseeing the functioning of the hospitals of the respective Services and also are the medical advisors to their respective Chief of Staff. The AFMS consists of

Army Medical Corps A medical corps is generally a military branch or officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians. List of medical corps The following organizations are examples of medica ...

(AMC) including AMC (NT),

Army Dental Corps An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

(AD Corps) and

Military Nursing Service The Indian Military Nursing Services is a part of Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) of the Indian Army, first formed under British rule in 1888. An officer in the Military Nursing Services is granted Permanent Commission or Short Service Comm ...

(MNS).

Classification of hospitals

Hospitals in the Army are classified into various categories as Sectional, Peripheral, Mid Zonal, Zonal, Command, Army Hospital (Research & Referral), based on bed strength and extent of availability of specialties.

Training institutions

The

Armed Forces Medical College upright=1.1, AFMC main building The Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) is a leading medical training institute in Pune, India, in the state of Maharashtra. The college is managed by the Indian Armed Forces. Established in May 1948 as a post ...

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

(AFMC) is the premier training institution of the AFMS established in May 1948. Other select hospitals such as AH (R&R), CH (AF)

Bengaluru Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

and INHS Ashwini

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

also impart post graduate training to the AMC officers. The College of Nursing at AFMC conducts a four-year degree course in Nursing.

References

External links