Full Range of Health Care on the Same High Level

Szöveg: honvedelem.hu | 2015. február 2. 13:00

The medical service of the Hungarian contingent serving with the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) mission is based at Athienou, a Greek Cypriot village located in the buffer zone. The service operates in Camp Szent István and a medical house next to it. In the area of operations, it is important to make sure that all soldiers have access to the full spectrum of health services on the same high level as at home. The implementation of this goal, however, is not always easy.

The Athienou medical center operates in the subordination of the headquarters of Sector 4 located in Camp General Stefanik (CGS), Famagusta, where a multinational force is stationed. The Slovaks are the lead nation, who are co-located with Hungarian, Serbian and Ukrainian peacekeepers. Besides a doctor of Slovak nationality and his colleagues, there is a Hungarian NCO on the staff of the medical centre of the CGS, which facilitates the medical support of the contingent HQ.

The UNFICYP-level professional superiors at HQ UNFICYP in Nicosia are a Force Medical Officer, who is assisted by a Force Hygiene Officer in matters concerning public health. Both are members of the Hungarian contingent. There are a doctor and a medical NCO who work 8 hours a day in Athienou, and they are also available to the soldiers of the contingent anytime. Their core mission is to provide medical care to Hungarian peacekeepers, but they also support soldiers of other nations and the members of the local UN police forces.

At present, Capt. (MD) Dr. István Kardos and SFC Valéria Sipeki – who arrived with the 36th rotation – are responsible for managing medical care in Camp Szent István and at patrol base 91. The medical services are provided to the soldiers with the use of the stocks of medicine made available by the UN and the Hungarian Defence Forces, as well as United Nations Owned Equipment (UNOE) and the Contingent Owned Equipment (COE) of the Slovak armed forces. In case a soldier requires special treatment, they transport him to a private hospital in Nicosia, which is contracted with the UN.

Dental care is provided in a contracted private surgery, where treatment is available only for dental problems that arise during the soldiers’ tour of duty. In addition to managing and organizing patient care, further tasks comprise the regular checking, registering and reporting of hygienic conditions in kitchens and common-use rooms in the facilities, including the checking of potable water from the municipal water system. Additional jobs are to provide medical teams for various military exercises and sport events, and to prepare the personnel (lectures on prevention, simulated car accidents, Military Skills Competition). The medical service is also ready to support the members of the contingent while they execute other tasks such as transportation, program organization or patrol duty.

Another important task is to monitor the soldiers’ physical and mental condition. The troops are deployed in the area of operations, permanently away from their families and familiar environment, so it is important to make sure that they feel good. The current staff of the Athienou medical center has the primary goal of working to the satisfaction of the contingent.