Ispettorato generale della sanità militare

The Ispettorato generale della sanità militare (IGESAN) is a military command post that is responsible for the military medical services in the Italian armed forces . The Inspector General of the Military Sanitary System , with his office in Rome , reports directly to the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces. The Inspector General of Sanitary, a Lieutenant General / Vice Admiral , is the Italian representative to the Committee of the Chiefs of Military Medical Services in NATO (COMEDS) and to the International Committee of Military Medicine .

Tasks and organization

In the Italian armed forces there is no central medical service as an independent organizational area; The army , navy , air force and carabinieri each have their own medical service. Since 2006, the medical services of the armed forces have formed a network in various areas that comes very close to a central medical service. Various facilities, in particular military hospitals , which before 2006 generally only served soldiers from a single armed force, were opened for soldiers from all other armed forces (and, if necessary, also for civilians) and in some cases organized across armed forces, with the medical service of one armed force taking the lead. The relevant authority for planning, conception, coordination and other basic tasks is the Ispettorato generale della sanità militare, founded in 2007 . It has authority over the following organizations:

Corpo di sanità e veterinaria dell'Esercito

Coat of arms of the Army Medical Service

The "Medical and Veterinary Corps of the Army" is subordinate to the logistics command of the Army. The medical corps was founded on June 4, 1833 in the then still Piedmontese army . In the territorial organization of this medical service there was usually a military hospital per corps area ( Comando militare territoriale ) until the Second World War . In 1984 there were two central military hospitals in Milan and Rome , eight military hospitals in Turin , Verona , Padua , Udine , Bologna , Florence , Bari and Caserta , and five smaller military hospitals in Bolzano , Chieti , Messina , Palermo and Cagliari in the then seven military regions as well as eight medical institutes. After the end of the Cold War , the army medical service was greatly reduced and in 1998 it was merged with the veterinary service founded in 1861.

The corps now includes a military hospital in Rome, a medical institute in Padua, a research institute in Rome, a veterinary clinic in Montelibretti near Rome, a horse breeding establishment in Grosseto and a medical and veterinary school in Rome-Cecchignola . In addition to these territorial facilities, there are medical units in various logistics associations and other small facilities.

Beret badge (selection)

Human medicine
pharmacist
Veterinarians
Psychologists

Corpo sanitario militare marittimo

Patch application series Marine-Sanitätsdienst

Air Force medic activity badge

The Marines Medical Service was established on April 1, 1861. Up until the next turn of the century, each coastal section command ( Dipartimento militare marittimo ) had a naval hospital. These were in La Spezia , La Maddalena , Naples , Augusta , Taranto and Venice . After the end of the Cold War, only the hospitals in La Spezia and Taranto remained. In 2006 the hospital in La Spezia was downsized to a medical institute, with the result that the navy only maintains one hospital in Taranto. In addition, there are some smaller medical offices on land, including one at the COMSUBIN Special Forces Command , and the on-board medical service.

Corpo sanitario aeronautico

The medical service of the Italian Air Force was established on October 8, 1925. This service never had its own military hospitals, only (legal) medical institutes in Milan , Florence , Rome and Naples . From 1937 onwards, an aero-medical research institute with branches in Turin and Milan was set up at the Guidonia military airfield , succeeding the present-day Aviation and Space Medicine Institute in Pratica di Mare . In addition to this facility, the medical service still maintains medical institutes in Milan, Rome and Bari , a mobile medical unit in Verona-Villafranca , a MedEvac unit in Pratica di Mare, a medical school in Rome as well as small medical care facilities at various commandos and associations.

Servizio Sanitario Carabinieri

The Medical Directorate at the General Command of the Carabinieri in Rome is responsible for several smaller medical facilities at various police commands throughout Italy.

Aid organizations

The involvement of aid companies in accordance with the provisions of the Geneva Conventions is characteristic of the medical services of the Italian armed forces . The respective relatives are uniformed volunteers who serve in or form military medical units and facilities. The Italian military medical system includes:

Volunteer paramedics and nurses from the military branch of the Italian Red Cross
Volunteer paramedics and nurses of the Military Auxiliary Corps of the Sovereign Order of Malta .

Others

The military sanitary system and thus the area of responsibility of the inspector general also includes a chemical-pharmaceutical company founded by the armed forces in Florence in 1853 (Stabilimento chimico farmaceutico militare) , which produces pharmaceuticals for military and, in some cases, also for civilian use. In 2014, the company hit the headlines because it was commissioned by the Ministry of Health to grow cannabis for medical products for the seriously ill.

From 1968 to 1997, the Accademia di sanità militare interforze in Florence was a joint medical academy for the armed forces, at which doctors and pharmacists from all branches of the armed forces were trained. Since the dissolution of the academy, training has been taking place at the officers' schools of the armed forces in cooperation with civil universities. If necessary, external doctors, pharmacists and psychologists are also employed directly.

Italian medical officers have no special rank designations that deviate from the standard. In addition to the usual officer ranks, there are only additions such as medico or veterinario . There are only deviations from this rule for generals and admirals, see ranks of the Italian armed forces .

The inspector general of the military medical system can also be the head of the medical service of the armed forces from which he comes.