- JMC incorporates the former Defence Medical Education and Training Agency (DMETA) and has taken on additional responsibilities, notably for Healthcare and the Defence Dental Services (DDS). The first Commander JMC is Maj Gen Mike von Bertele.
- The creation of the JMC presents a unique opportunity to make a real and sustained improvement to the delivery of operational medical capability and the provision of secondary healthcare to Service personnel.
- JMC provides a single focus for training design and delivery. It enables improvements in how we train and prepare our people for their operational role.
- Creating robust mechanisms to manage our secondary care personnel, dental personnel and medical trainees will improve our ability to support them in their professional and career development . JMC will enable the Department to manage secondary care personnel strategically to meet Defence needs.
- By bringing healthcare delivery under one command, JMC will be able to provide a much higher level of support to the single Service primary care organisations, monitoring and assuring that it is the best and most appropriate care, including that given to operational casualties.
- JMC will work with PJHQ and the Front Line Commands to develop increasingly joint medical capability for the future. The Command has achieved Initial Operating Capability and is on track for Full Operating Capability by April 2009.
- No immediate changes in location of JMC units is planned. The Headquarters of JMC, currently at Fort Blockhouse in Gosport, is planned to move to Whittington Barracks Lichfield as part of the Midland Medical Accommodation programme. Work has commenced on the new HQ building to accommodate both Joint Medical Command and elements of the Defence Medical Services Directorate there from 2010 onwards.
About Joint Medical Command
Who are we ?
Personnel
The Joint Medical Command (JMC) employs some 2325 staff (73% military and 27% civilian) providing clinical and support services.
Where are we ?
Organisation
Joint Medical Command operates from ten principal sites across the UK to provide clinical, academic and military education and training for trainees ranging from new Nurse and Combat Medical Technician recruits through to Hospital Consultants –
a. The Royal Centre for Defence Medicine with its headquarters at University Hospital Birmingham which also has responsibility for the Defence Medical Services Training Centre (Aldershot) and a small, residual training facility at Fort Blockhouse;
b. The Defence Post-graduate Medical Deanery (in Birmingham);
c. Intermediate and Secondary care delivered from the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre, Headley Court.
DMRC also has responsibility for fourteen Regional Rehabilitation Units, including two in Germany.
In addition, JMC personnel provide Secondary Care within more than thirty NHS Hospitals, with large concentrations of staff at Birmingham and the five Ministry of Defence Hospital Units (MDHUs) at
Derriford, Plymouth;
Frimley Park, Surrey;
Northallerton, Yorkshire;
Peterborough, Cambridgeshire
Portsmouth, Hampshire
d. A worldwide Defence Medical Library Service (DMLS);
e. Joint Medical Command Headquarters at Fort Blockhouse, Gosport.
The Defence Dental Service
Joint Medical Command is also responsible for the Defence Dental Service. With a small Headquarters at Halton in Buckinghamshire, the DDS operates from 187 sites in UK , Germany and Cyprus. A further 2,200 personnel work within DDS.
What are we?
Principal tasks
The role of Joint Medical Command is to make available nominated Secondary Care personnel for deployments and exercises, and to deliver appropriate medical and military training and education. JMC is also responsible for the Role 4 Operational Patient Pathway.