Defence Medical Services

Last updated

The Defence Medical Services (DMS) is an umbrella organisation within the Ministry of Defence in the United Kingdom. It consists of the Defence Medical Services Group, part of Strategic Command, the Royal Navy Medical Service, Army Medical Services and RAF Medical Services.

Contents

Structure

The Defence Medical Services are led by the Director General, currently Air Marshal Clare Walton. [1] The Director General DMS is the defence authority for end to end Defence healthcare and medical operational capability.

The Defence Medical Services Group also has three two-star directors: [2]

Role

The Defence Medical Services' 7,000 general practitioners, dentists, consultants, nurses, surgeons, allied health professionals and medics (combat medical technicians) provide healthcare for the United Kingdom's Armed Forces. Primary Healthcare is provided by Defence Primary Healthcare. Hospital care is provided by the National Health Service and by embedded military clinicians in Joint Hospital Group units. Specialist military medical education and training is provided by the Defence Medical Academy in Lichfield. Deployed operational medical care is provided by the Royal Naval, Army and Royal Air Force Medical Services. The main centre for Role 4 hospital care is the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. [4] There are smaller units at: [5]

History

There have been medical personnel supporting the Armed Forces since the creation of the Armed Forces: ships of the Royal Navy have carried surgeons for centuries; regiments of the British Army have employed surgeons to look after the health of soldiers and to take care of the wounded since their creation.

Modern Regiments in the British Army are supported by General Practitioners employed as Regimental Medical Officers and a team of Nurses and Combat Medical Technicians. Specialist Medical Regiments provide dental, physiotherapy and mental health support. Royal Air Force Stations have been supported Station Medical Officers and their primary care teams.

From March 2020, the DMS began supporting the UK's COVID-19 relief efforts following the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. As part of Operation Rescript, the DMS contributed over half of its 6,500 personnel to support NHS hospitals and Trusts – the largest contribution to the operation from any other part of the MOD. [6] The Royal Centre for Defence Medicine assisted with the construction of NHS Nightingale Hospital Birmingham, a temporary critical care hospital, in April 2020. [7]

List of Directors General since 2019

RankNamePost-nominalsYears in office
Peter Homa CBE 2019–2023 [8]
Air Marshal Clare Walton CB, KHP2023–present [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Army Medical Corps</span> Medical arm of the British Army

The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps and Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps form the Army Medical Services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Canadian Medical Service</span> Unified medical branch of the Canadian Armed Forces

The Royal Canadian Medical Service is a personnel branch of the Canadian Armed Forces, consisting of all members of medical occupations. Nearly all members of the RCMS, along with the members of the Royal Canadian Dental Corps (RCDC), are employed in the Canadian Forces Health Services Group, an operational formation. The RCMS was formerly designated the Canadian Forces Medical Service until it was redesignated on October 9, 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strategic Command (United Kingdom)</span> Military unit

The United Kingdom's Strategic Command (StratCom), previously known as Joint Forces Command (JFC), manages allocated joint capabilities from the three armed services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham</span> Hospital in Birmingham, England

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham is a major, 1,215 bed, tertiary NHS and military hospital in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, situated very close to the University of Birmingham. The hospital, which cost £545 million to construct, opened on 16 June 2010, replacing the previous Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Selly Oak Hospital. It is one of the largest single-site hospitals in the United Kingdom and is part of one of the largest teaching trusts in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Brompton Hospital</span> Hospital in London, England

Royal Brompton Hospital is the largest specialist heart and lung medical centre in the United Kingdom. It is managed by Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust.

Professor Sir Bruce Edward Keogh, KBE, FMedSci, FRCS, FRCP is a Rhodesian-born British surgeon who specialises in cardiac surgery. He was medical director of the National Health Service in England from 2007 and national medical director of the NHS Commissioning Board from 2013 until his retirement early in 2018. He is chair of Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">French Armed Forces Health Service</span> Medical and sanitary support service of the French Armed Forces

The French Defence Central Health Service is responsible for medical and sanitary support of the French Armed Forces and of all institutions placed under the authority of the French Ministry of Armed Forces. It is a joint service, and its central administration is under the direct control of the Chief of the defence staff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military medicine</span> A medical specialty attending to soldiers, sailors and other service members

The term military medicine has a number of potential connotations. It may mean:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surgeon-General (United Kingdom)</span>

The title Surgeon-General has been used for different purposes at different times in the United Kingdom. Initially it was the designation of a director of the Army's medical services. Subsequently it was a senior rank in the Army Medical Department. Having lapsed after the First World War, the title was again revived in the late 20th century for the most senior uniformed medical officer in the British Armed Forces. Currently, it pertains to a senior uniformed medical officer, working under the Director General Defence Medical Services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wexham Park Hospital</span> Hospital in Berkshire, England

Wexham Park Hospital is a large NHS hospital in Slough, Berkshire. It has been managed by Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust since 2014. Sir Andrew Morris is the Trust's chief executive.

The Defence Medical Academy is based at DMS Whittington. It is the training centre of Defence Medical Services. It trains military personnel to deal with situations that civilian paramedics would be involved with; i.e. more advanced situations than those which just require first aid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spire Healthcare</span> British private healthcare company

Spire Healthcare Group plc is the second-largest provider of private healthcare in the United Kingdom. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

A Ministry of Defence Hospital Unit, or MDHU, is a military healthcare facility embedded within a civilian National Health Service hospital. The United Kingdom Armed Forces no longer run dedicated military hospitals by themselves, the last of such hospitals closing or turned over to the local NHS trust in 1995,. The Defence Medical Services direct the operation of all seven MDHUs in the UK.

The 2014 Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of the Queen's Official Birthday celebrations during the month of June. The Queen's Birthday Honours were announced on 14 June 2014 in the United Kingdom, on 9 June 2014 in Australia, on 2 June 2014 in New Zealand, on 14 June 2014 in Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia and Belize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2nd Medical Brigade (United Kingdom)</span> Military unit

2nd Medical Brigade is a formation of the British Army formed under 1st UK Division. It predominantly provides deployed hospital care via 13 Field Hospitals. It also provides specialist medical capabilities via three Nationally Recruited Units; 306 Hospital Support Regiment, 335 Medical Evacuation Regiment and Medical Operational Support Group.

The 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of the Queen's Official Birthday celebrations during the month of June. The Queen's Birthday Honours for the United Kingdom were announced on 9 June; the honours for New Zealand were announced on 4 June and for Australia on 11 June.

The 2019 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations at the start of January and were officially announced in The London Gazette at 22:30 on 28 December 2018. Australia, an independent Realm, has a separate honours system and its first honours of the year, the 2019 Australia Day Honours, coincide with Australia Day on 26 January.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Rescript</span> British military operation to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic

Operation Rescript was the code name for the British military operation to help tackle the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom and its Crown Dependencies between 2020 and 2022. It was described as the UK's "biggest ever homeland military operation in peacetime" by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), involving up to 23,000 personnel within a specialist task force, named the COVID Support Force (CSF). The support was given at the request of the UK government, its devolved administrations and civil authorities through the Military aid to the civil authorities (MACA) mechanism.

This is the structure of the British Armed Forces, as of October 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armed forces in Wales</span> Overview of the British Armed Forces operating in Wales

The Armed forces in Wales are the military bases and organisation in Wales or associated with Wales. This includes servicemen and women from Wales and Welsh regiments and brigades of the British Armed Forces.

References

  1. ↑ "Latest civil service & public affairs moves – 24 October". Civil Service World. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "How Defence Works" (PDF). assets.publishing.service.gov.u. UK Ministry of Defence. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020. page 32
  3. ↑ "Defence Medical Service". MOD . Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  4. ↑ Defence Medical Services Q&A National Health Service
  5. ↑ "Ministry of Defence | MicroSite | DMS". Mod.uk. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  6. ↑ "Defence contribution to the UK's pandemic response". UK Parliament. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  7. ↑ "New NHS Nightingale Hospital Birmingham Opens". 16 April 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  8. ↑ "Dr Peter Homa CBE DBA". GOV.UK. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  9. ↑ "Air Marshal Clare Walton CB KHP". GOV.UK. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.