The Ministry of Defence and Aviation (MODA) operates independently of the Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia to provide medical care to members of the armed forces and their dependents. This encompasses the military and civilian employees of the Saudi Arabian Army, the Royal Saudi Naval Forces, the Royal Saudi Air Force and Royal Saudi Air Defence.

The Saudi Arabian Armed Forces Medical Services General Directorate (AFMSGD) is the department within MODA responsible for the planning and operation of the Military Medical Service. On a historical note, it was founded in 1947 as a ten bed dispensary in Al Taif, and was renamed Military Medicine in 1950 with responsibility to develop a hospital service throughout the Kingdom. Since that humble beginning, it has expanded to operate 24 hospitals, 147 dispensaries from 46 administrative centres with a total bed capacity over 6000.

Military Medical Service Functions

Medical Care

• To provide preventative and therapeutic medical and health care to the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces personnel and their dependents during times of peace and war, at any given location
• To provide medical care for citizens who are not Armed Forces personnel in emergency conditions.
• To provide health care to all citizens in case of rare diseases and specialities that are not available at other public hospitals in the Kingdom.
• To provide health care support to friendly states via mobile hospitals, visiting doctors or by providing medical devices and equipment in limited situations outside the kingdom.
  

Medical Evacuations

• To transfer injured people and patients in hospitals and dispensaries inside and outside the Kingdom and executing evacuations in case of natural disasters, wars and military training situations by the Medical Services Emergency Air Evacuation.

Management

• To plan, guide and supervise all the medical facilities
• To plan and co-ordinate healthcare with the heads of the Armed Forces Units
• To apply the International Total Quality standards on hospitals of the Armed Forces around the Kingdom and pursue implementation through Patient Safety and Total Quality Management at The Saudi Arabian armed forces medical services general directorate (AFMSGD).

Emergency and Disaster Management

• To participate in emergency plans at the national level and in the season of Hajj
• To supervise the plans of protecting Medical Services units from weapons of mass destruction and danger
• To construct and enhance defence capabilities and raise training standards of the Medical Services units.
• To perform field manoeuvres and exercises
  

Education

• To develop school curricula at the AFMSGD schools in Al Kharj in order to qualify the trainers.
• To encourage young Saudis to obtaining diplomas and bachelor degrees in different medical supportive specialities at Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences.
• To establish learning programs in hospitals through internal programs of the Saudi Commission of Health Specialties or in cooperation with advanced international training centres.
• To sponsor scholarships either abroad or within the Kingdom to achieve the highest scientific degrees. Collaboration is being made with universities in the United States and Europe.
  

Air Medical Centre Dhahran

The Air Medical Centre provides training in

• Loss direction simulator
• Chamber low-pressure test
• Ejection seat
• Chamber high-pressure test
• Centrifuge
• Night vision training
• Aviation Medicine

Undersea Diving and Hyperbaric Medical Institute

This institute provides specialised hyperbaric medical services to the Royal Saudi Naval Forces. It has three hyperbaric chambers with a capacity of 31 patients located in two provinces.

Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences Dhahran

This college provides basic and specialist medical education and specialist military medical courses in aviation medicine and diving medicine.

Field Deployments

The Field Medicine department works nationally and internationally in times of peace and war to manage humanitarian and relief campaigns by mobilising hospitals and teams of medical staff.

Aero Medical Evacuation

The mission is to support the divisions of the armed forces in times of peace and war, transport patients and wounded people from armed forces hospitals and public hospitals to specialized hospitals, both inside and outside the Kingdom.

It has a large fleet of helicopters and jet aircraft. The fleet covers the entire kingdom. It consists of the following types:

• C 130 the flying hospital
• Bell 212 helicopter
• Dolphin 365 n helicopter
• Desert hawk uh 60 helicopter
• Leer jet
• Gulf stream G3
• Gulf stream G4
• Gulf stream G5