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Mission Statement: “To provide state-of-the-art superspeciality services to the dependent population and professional leadership to other Armed Forces medical establishments”
History
1. Command Hospital Air Force Bangalore (CHAFB), the only Command Hospital of Indian Air Force had its beginning as a small 50-bedded Military Hospital, which was raised for British troops in 1816 at Bangalore. The hospital shifted to its present location (Agram) in 1868 and during World War-II its bed strength was raised to 300. In 1962 the bed strength of the hospital was further increased to 602 beds. On 01 May 1968 this Military Hospital Bangalore was taken over by Indian Air Force in exchange for Air Force Hospital Secunderabad, which became MH Secunderabad
2. On 22 Dec 1977 this Air Force Hospital was upgraded and designated as Command Hospital Air Force Bangalore (CHAFB) and on 05 Nov 84 the command of the hospital upgraded to the rank of Air Vice Marshal. Presently in addition to the 800 regular patient care beds, the hospital is authorized 150 battle casualty beds and 50 crisis expansion beds.
Facilities Available
3. The following departments and facilities are available at Command Hospital Air Force Bangalore: -
a) Specialist Departments
- Medicine
- Surgery
- Ophthalmology
- Otorhinolaryngology
- Radiology
- Anaesthesiology
- Dermatology
- Obstetric and Gynaecology
- Psychiatry
- Blood Bank
- Laboratory
- Paediatrics
- Orthopaedics
- Nephrology
- Urology
- Rheumatology
- Neurology
- Gastro Enterology
- Oncology
- Nuclear Medicine
- GI Surgery
- Cardiology
- Oncosurgery
- Burns & Reconstructive
- Endocrinology
- Surgery
b) Specialist Centres/ Facilities
- HIV Surveillance centre
- Lactation clinic & Immunisation centre
- Lithotripsy Unit
- Joint Replacement Centre
- Corneal Transplantation Centre
- CT Scan Centre
- Artificial Limb Sub Centre
- Speech Therapy Centre
- Molecular Biology Laboratory
- Endocrinology Laboratory
c) Intensive Care Areas
- ICU Medical
- ICU Surgical
- Coronary Care Unit
- Neonatal ICU
- Paediatric ICU
- Respiratory ICU
- Psychiatry ICU
d) New Facilities on the Anvil
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
- Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratory
- Radiotherapy Departmentt
Role
4. The hospital is a Garrison hospital for defence personnel, ex-serviceman and their families, staying in and around Bangalore. Service patients from all the Armed Force hospitals of South India are referred here for specialist and super specialist treatment. In addition a large number of ex service men including ECHS beneficiaries and their dependents come to this hospital from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands for obtaining treatment or referral to empanelled facilities in civil.
Achievements
5. The hospital played a vital role in 1971 Indo Pak conflict and the Sri Lanka operations when a large number of battle casualties were treated at this hospital. In Feb 1990 the hospital gained state government acclaim and public accolade, when it played a proactive role in management of Airbus crash casualties at Bangalore Airport. Once again on 26 Dec 2004 the No 1 Rapid Action Medical Team (RAMT) a lodger unit of this hospital moved to Carnicobar to provide medical cover to the Tsunami victims. This unit, the first medical team to reach the remote island not only provided medical aid but also provided humanitarian assistance to the people of Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
Training
6. The hospital is recognized by Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Bangalore as a postgraduate teaching institute for General Medicine, General Surgery, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Dermatology, ENT, Anaesthesiology, Pediatrics, Pathology, and diploma in Anaesthesiology and Venereal Diseases. The hospital is also a recognized centre of Indira Gandhi National Open University for Postgraduate Diploma in Hospital and Health Management. In addition the hospital is authorized a School of Nursing for training of probationer nurses for career in Armed Forces. The Para medical Board of Karnataka has agreed in principle to recognize the specialist courses conducted at CHAFB for award of Diploma. This would go a long way in rehabilitation of Air Force Medical Assistants.
7. CHAFB is a pioneer in the scientific management of hospital waste. CHAFB was selected as one of the hospitals for World Health Organisation (WHO) aided project on Hospital Waste Management in India. On successful completion of the project the hospital was recognized as a “Model Hospital” on Hospital Waste Management by WHO. Command Hospital, Air Force Bangalore was adjudged as Environmentalist of the year 2001-02 in the state of Karnataka and awarded First Prize by Hon’ble Minster of Health & Technical Education of Karnataka on 25 Nov 2002 for CHAFB’s excellence in Bio-Medical Waste Management. The hospital is a recognized centre for Hospital Waste Management training in the Armed Forces and has trained many doctors, nurses, and paramedical workers from the three defence services.
Newer Developments
8. On 06 October 2005 the Air Force Telemedicine System was launched at CHAFB. In this system developed in collaboration with Indian Space research Organisation (ISRO), CHAFB is the central node providing referral and consultation to other Air Force Hospitals and Station Medicare Centres. The system aims at reaching specialist medical care to the forward areas where Armed Forces troops are deployed as well as to the population residing in the remote corners of the country.
9. The hospital is in an advanced stage of planning for a new modern multistoried hospital complex to replace the old and widely dispersed buildings. This basement, ground plus 6-storied complex will house all the departments and wards in one modern building providing optimum healing environment to the patients as well as ideal working environment to hospital staff.
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