PubMed1995
The author of this article--Chief of the Russian Armed Forces Medical Service--analyses the trends of optimization of medical support of the Army and Navy, taking into account the experience of combat casualty care during Chechen crisis. In order to enhance the efficiency of medical support during combat activities all the personnel is supplied with first-aid kits. Each company is reinforced with a medical assistant or army physician; battalion medical posts--with physicians, medical assistants, aidmen, mobile dressing room and ambulances; regiment medical posts--with two surgeons, an anaesthesiologist, an instrument nurse and nurse-anaesthetist. The primary medical care is provided at the battalion medical post; qualified (secondary) surgical care--at regiment medical posts, and specialized (tertiary) medical care--at special medical detachments (SMD) and military hospitals. The wounded are evacuated from the zone of combat actions by APC or MICV, and then by helicopters. The further evacuation of wounded is realized by transport or medical aircraft, including "Skalpel" flight surgery plane. The experience of army physicians has proved the necessity of multilateral development of Mobile Forces Medical Service and the formation of aeromobile hospitals. An airborne infantry battalion must have a medical company in its organic structure, and respectively a separate medical battalion must have an aeromobile medical company. The SMD which are assigned to act in the emergency situations of peaceful time also can be effective in providing medical care (including specialized care) during local military conflicts. Thinking over the further development of medical support in the Armed Forces the author assigns a number of tasks throughout all the chain of medical command, including medical establishments, medical examination boards, the Corps of Senior medical specialists (in surgery, internal medicine, pathologicoanatomy, sanitary supervision, etc). A special attention is paid to the formation of an efficient system of sanitary-epidemiological supervision in the Armed Forces; the improvement of medical assistance for servicewomen, retired officers and their dependents; the enforcement of military and labour discipline in the units and establishments of medical service; training and education of medical personnel; the strict adherence to the principles of medical ethics, deontology, and oath of physician.