Slovak Republic

National context

Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the southwest, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. The Slovak landscape is noted primarily for its mountainous, with the Carpathian Mountains extending across most of the northern half of the country. Among these mountain ranges are the high peaks of the Fatra-Tatra Area (including Tatra Mountains, Greater Fatra and Low Fatra). The capital and the largest city is Bratislava, while the second largest city is Kosice.  The industrial sector plays an important role within its economy. The main industry sectors are car manufacturing and electrical engineering. 

Slovakia is a parliamentary democratic republic with a multi-party system.  The Slovak head of state and the formal head of the executive is the president, though with very limited powers. Slovakia's highest legislative body is the 150-seat unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic. Delegates are elected for a four-year term on the basis of proportional representation. Slovakia's highest judicial body is the Constitutional Court of Slovakia which rules on constitutional issues. 

The president is formally the commander-in-chief of the Slovak armed forces. Slovakia is a member of the United Nations (since 1993) and participates in its specialized agencies. Slovakia joined the European Union and NATO in 2004 and the Eurozone in 2009. From 2006, the army transformed into a fully professional organisation and compulsory military service was abolished.

 

Basic Task of the Military Medical Service

Military Medical Service provides basic and specialized diagnostic and therapeutic medical service for professional soldiers, retirees, relatives of soldiers and civilian patients and necessary medical and veterinary support during training and operations in multinational military and humanitarian operations, search and rescue and relief works.

Structure

Military Medical Command is the central authority of the Military Medical Service of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic (strategic level). It is headed by Surgeon General of the Armed Forces of the SR who is the highest representative of the Slovak Military Medical service. He is directly subordinated to the Chief of General Staff (CHOD) of the Slovak Republic. Military Medical Command has 6 divisions. In Slovakia, there are four military forces – Land Force, Air Force, Special Operation Forces and Medical Force. At the Land Force, Air Force and Special Operation Forces HQs (operational level), there are Medical Departments, which professionally manage and command individual medical troops within military units. These medical departments are subordinated to the Force Commanders but also controlled by Military Medical Command. Each of brigades, AF bases and battalions (tactical level) have Role 1 MTFs in their structure.

The level of brigades and battalions includes the Medical Units (35) and their structure corresponds to Role 1. The level of the primary medical care within the armed forces includes Garrison Outpatient‘s Departments (18) and Health Centres (3), which ensure the primary contact of the members of the armed forces with the medical service. These medical facilities are subordinate to the Central Military Hospital. These facilities provide the first specialized medical care for members of the armed forces of the SR. The medical units in the military units perform tasks mainly within the area of medical training and medical provision of military exercises, and their structure corresponds to Role 1.

 

Military Hospitals  

Central Military Hospital, Ruzomberok (CMH Ruzomberok). CMH Ruzomberok takes an important position in the wide network of military health care facilities. It is the largest military hospital in the territory of the Slovak Republic with 1650 employees. This hospital belongs to the group III.A. type hospitals. The CMH Ruzomberok is contribution organisation for Ministry of Defence of SR. Military Hospital in Ruzomberok was renamed to Central Military Hospital Ruzomberok on September 1, 1994. The hospital consists of 18 clinics/wards. Its 450 beds are placed in 5-bed pavilions. The hospital contains one large, beautifully shaped and maintained hospital garden, offering a beautiful environment for patients. All the hospital sections are fully supplied by 300 doctors. Hospital has accreditation to offer University level of education for hospital medical staff in cooperation with Catholic University in Ruzomberok. There is a number of qualified nurses and medical laboratory technicians of different technicality employed in the category MHSP (Middle Health Service Personnel) and other LHSP (Lower Health Service Personnel). Primary health care for military personnel, their relatives and civilians in peacetime on the territory of Slovakia is provided by Garrison Outpatient‘s Departments (18) and Health Centers (3), which are subordinated to the Central Military Hospital. These facilities ensure first specialized medical care.

Aerial photography and Surgical pavilion in Central Military Hospital with heliport located on the roof.

 

Institutes

The Medical Aviation Centre in Sliac (MAC) was created in 2018 and closely cooperates with the Institute of Aviation Medicine Prague. The main role of MAC is coordination and realization of examination (specific medical care) for all professional soldiers and civilian personnel performing specialized functions within military air force in accordance with the requirements of national law and NATO STANAG 7212. The MAC also provides lecturing for air personnel in specific air medicine to provide air patrol rescue system and medical evacuation.

The Central Military Hospital in Ruzomberok together with St. Michal Hospital in Bratislava through their Occupation medicine departments perform the periodical medical check-ups and periodical psych-diagnostic check-ups for all professional soldiers (every 5 years). The benefit for all military staff is preventive medical examination at general practitioner on annual basis covered by Ministry of Defence. Military staff returning from the operation in an epidemiologic dangerous area is observed for 5 days in Central Military Hospital in Ruzomberok where all necessary examinations are performed.

Tasks in the area of the public health service are covered by the Military Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Bratislava (VUHE). VUHE also assists with force health protection issues and vaccination policy for the armed forces´ members. Force health protection includes veterinary support with their task not only in military animal health care but in food and water safety and epidemiology. Vets provide decontamination of material returning from the operations abroad to prevent spreading of non-indigenous diseases. Medical assessments of soldier’s health are performed by a working group of doctors with a specialization in this field. All these institutions work closely together under the supreme control from the Military Medical Command.

Number of the Medical Service Personnel in the Slovak Armed Forces (excluding personnel in hospitals):

• Qualified physicians – 60 officers
• Qualified dentists – 1 officers
• Pharmacists – 3 officers
• Veterinary surgeons – 18 officers, 1 civilian
• Assisting/nursing/supporting personnel – 520 soldiers
   

Training

Each individual in the Slovak Armed Forces is trained for Tactical Medical Care (TCCC) training and Field Hygiene. Before deployment of Tactical medicine (TCCC) course is mandatory for every medic and 2 non-medical soldiers in section are certified in Combat Life Saver (CLS) course. To keep the skill of medical, veterinary and laboratory specialists, personnel carries out their everyday duties in military and civilian hospitals/laboratories. Specialized education and training of military medical specialists (physicians and nurses) are provided by accredited civil medical facilities (e.g. Slovak Medical University). We do not provide live tissue training since it is not allowed by the Slovak legislature.

MASCAL training in MTF Role 2E

 

Field Deployments 

Role 1
The medical units at the level Role 1 are the main medical unit of the Slovak Armed Forces. It varies in size according to the character of the unit. Usually, it comprises between 15 – 25 medical service members (physicians, nurses and drivers). There are 29 Roles 1 in Slovakia. The medical staff guarantees medical support for the unit. They provide training of every unit member in first aid, in the principles of field hygiene, in the use of personal medical and protective devices and equipment, as well as in transferring the wounded from a battlefield. Naturally, they provide medical support for training the forces both at the garrison and at the military training areas and are responsible for medical material management.

  

Mobile Role 1

Role 2E and Role 2B level

Military Medical Command has at its disposal a field mobile medical units, which is able to provide medical care at level Role 2E and Role 2B level. 

The personnel of these units perform its continuous specialized training in the Slovak Republic in a variety of accredited medical facilities, which operate under the competence of the Ministry of Defence or the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic. Most of the Role 2E and Role 2Bs´ members have experience with deployment in NATO and UN-led international crisis management operations. During their deployment outside the Slovak Republic (states of the former Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan, East Timor, the Golan Heights, Cyprus, Latvia and Lebanon) they showed their professional erudition, as well as the interoperability in the international coalitions. In 2013 the unit Role 2E underwent an international evaluation based on NATO standards and part of the unit was incorporated in EU BG 2016 preparation.

 

Air view on MTF Role 2E

RDOIT and PREVMED 
These small easily manoeuvrable and deployable units perform their special tasks in a variety of Force Health Protection and CBRN environment situations.

 

 

Members of PREVMED 

 

Members of RDOIT during sampling in NBC explosion environment

 

Role 4

Central Military Hospital assures all procedures required for MTF Role 4 for Slovak Armed Forces.                                                              

 

Equipment used for medical evacuation

At the level Role 1, for the purposes of medical evacuation, we use wheeled equipment and vehicle Tatrapan produced in the Czech Republic. And also special vehicle Mercedes Benz G-PCHR MB 300. The number of tracked vehicles and equipment designed for combat activities is limited. Level Role 2 uses mainly wheeled equipment. The Slovak armed forces provide the Air Search and Rescue Service, but its range is limited within the Slovak Republic. Strategic air evacuation is provided in cooperation with NATO countries under international agreements as the Slovak Republic has no military aircraft available for such evacuation. Currently, large modernization projects are underway also in the field of replacing ambulances, with and without ballistic protection.

 

Medical evacuation

  

Medical evacuation

Missions running in 2023 (except observer’s missions):

Operation	Nr. of physicians	Nr. of medics
eFP Latvia	0	2
UNFICYP	2	6

 

Civil-Military Cooperation

The Slovak military medical service co-operates very closely with the civil medical service. The basic special preparation of potential medical care specialists links to specialized accredited workplaces within civilian service. Only those who successfully complete the basic special preparation can
 apply for jobs within the military medical service, but before doing so, they have to go through special preparation in the Armed Forces Academy in Liptovsky Mikulas. The military medical service closely co-operates with civil medical facilities, which provide specialized examination the military medical services cannot provide (e.g. National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, etc.). The medical service members participate in solving crisis situations in the territory of the Slovak Republic (e.g. flooding, influenza pandemic, Covid-19 pandemic etc.)

 

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(status: 2 May 2023)

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