NOT MANY people know that Armed Forces have a dedicated and specialised department dealing with medical supplies and this wing too, has precision working that most of the ‘civilian’ medical establishments can look up to and learn from. Incidentally, the one in Lucknow, on records, is the best in the country!
Armed Forces Medical Stores Depot (AFMSD), Lucknow has won the best AFMSD trophy for the second year running this year. AFMSD Lucknow caters to a total of 19 States of the country under Central Command and Eastern Command.
The depot has risen from archaic kind of establishment to one of the most ultramodern depots.
“All medical, dental and veterinary units of Eastern and Central Command. All Naval Coast Guard and Air Force units, Ordnance factories, Border Roads units, Assam Rifles and DRDO units are dependent as payment indentors and also some units in Nepal and Bhutan are dependent on the depot. AFMSD Lucknow provides medical stores to over 450 dependent units,” said Brigadier UB Chitnis the Commandant of AFMSD, Lucknow.
The depot has a long and interesting history. It was raised during the Second World War, in March 1943, as the Advance Medical Stores at Peshawar with Major EO William as the Officer Commanding. The depot was moved to Lucknow at the time of Independence. Until the Central Command was raised, the depot was responsible for providing medical stores and equipment to the Eastern Command units. Subsequently, with the raising of the Central Command, it started covering the requirements of the Central Command too.
{{/usCountry}}The depot has a long and interesting history. It was raised during the Second World War, in March 1943, as the Advance Medical Stores at Peshawar with Major EO William as the Officer Commanding. The depot was moved to Lucknow at the time of Independence. Until the Central Command was raised, the depot was responsible for providing medical stores and equipment to the Eastern Command units. Subsequently, with the raising of the Central Command, it started covering the requirements of the Central Command too.
{{/usCountry}}The depot is tucked away at one end of Lucknow Cantonment and is under high security. The depot, which was not designed as a medical stores depot, has about 37 sheds of various shapes and sizes of which some were stables, some gun sheds and some garages. However, even the external looks of the depot are going to change in next few years in a phased manner.
The depot is responsible for the forecasting, planning, procurement, receiving, stocking, accounting and issue of medical, dental and veterinary store and equipment for dependent units. The stores include all types of drugs, dressings, injectable, vaccines and sera includining anti rabies and anti snake venom as well as equipments. And every month on an average the depot dispatches about 1,200 packages ranging between 50 to 200 tonnes to users. So as to maintain cold chain, the depot has about 300 square metres of cool and cold storage accommodation.