HISTORY OF MILITARY NURSING SERVICES

INITIAL INTRODUCTION AND LATER DEVELOPMENTS

OF NURSING SERVICE IN INDIAN ARMY

1888 Arrival of British Trained Nurses :
1st Batch of British Trained Nurses were appointed for service in Indian Station Hospitals for service with British Troops.

1896 Establishment of British Army Nursing Service :
This service was gradually increased and the Permanent Cadre of British Army Nursing Service established and thereafter those trained nurses were granted Commission in British Army.

1902 :
British Army Nursing Service had been formulated and Queen Alexandra became the 1st President.

1903 :
British Army Nursing Service had been redesignated as Queen Alexandra Military Nursing Service.

1914 Temporary Indian Nursing Service :
A temporary Indian Nursing Service started for the Nursing care of the Indian soldier.

1927 Establishment of Permanent Nursing Service :
A Permanent Nursing Service with qualified nurses started for service with the Indian Military forces with the strength of 55. (This is the cadre for which Permanent Commission had been granted after the promulgation of the Indian Military Nursing Service Ordinance XXX of 1943).

1941 Auxiliary Nursing Service (India) :
Auxiliary Nursing Service (India) inaugurated. The aim of this service had been to produce a large number of partially trained nurses to supplement the army requirement and to work as temporary branch of the Permanent Nursing Service. (From this cadre, candidates were selected for further training in the nursing schools recognized by the Provincial Nursing Registration Councils and after the six to nine months training they had been put into the cadre of General Service ANS (I). Further, this General Service ANS (I) members were granted Temporary Commission in Military Nursing Service after the promulgation of the Ordinance XXX of 1943 and even few of them who were attained proper qualification or 10 years of service experience were granted Permanent Commission in Military Nursing Service). But the recruitment to the ANS had been stopped after the 1971 war as it was decided not to supplement the Regular Cadre (the Officers of the Military Nursing Service) with nurses without proper Qualifications and certificates. In January 1977, only one ANS member who had attained the age of 55 was in service and the others had either been superannuated or granted Regular Commission in the Military Nursing Service. So there is no more Auxiliary Nursing Service exists in Indian Army.

1943 Upgradation of Status And Privileges of Permanent Military Nursing Service members at par with other Commissioned Officers of the Indian Army :
The Indian Military Nursing Service Ordinance XXX of 1943 was promulgated to make the Indian Military Nursing Service as part of the Indian Army and the status of its members equivalent to the Commissioned Officers. This was a reward for the service rendered by the Permanent Nursing Service members during2nd world war. (During 2nd world war, the large number of them was sent to different places of Middle East, Africa, Europe and the Far East where they served under the most tiring conditions. They worked in Base and Field Hospitals and casuality clearing stations. Some served in Hospital ships. So their Work was universally acclaimed and it raised the prestige of the service enormously).

1947 Change in Administration :
For the first time one of the Indian Military Nursing Service officer Mrs DG Howard was appointed as Head of the IMNS as Chief Principal Matron in the rank of Colonel. Before that QAMNS officer held the same post. Later the rank of Chief Principal Matron had been upgraded to the rank of Brigadier. After independence, the Indian Military Nursing Service had been redesignated as Military Nursing Service.

Post Independence Period :
Our own Military Nursing Schools in different military hospitals to train the selected candidates on all India basis started (Still the same schools with B.Sc (Nursing) programs are only existing). On the successful completion of training, the probationer nurses were granted Permanent Commission in Military Nursing Service, which is still in practice.

Up gradation of Rank and change in Appointment:
The Permanent cadre of the Military Nursing Service sanctioned in 1976 allowed for one Major General, 8 Brigadiers, 19 Colonels and 68 Lieutenant Colonels. The post of Matron-in-Chief, Army HQ, was upgraded from Brigadier to Major General and eventually redesignated as Director Nursing Service. The Command Principal Matrons of HQ Southern Command and HQ Central Command were promoted to the rank of Brigadier, and the Principal Matrons of seven military hospitals to Colonel. Twenty-three posts were upgraded from Major to Lieutenant Colonel and 38 from Captain to Major. Later there were many changes like the appointment of Director Nursing Service had been redesignated as Additional Director General Military Nursing Service, and the appointment of Command Principal Matron had been redesignated as Deputy Director Military Nursing Service.

MNS (Local) :
A third wing of the Military Nursing Service, the MNS (Local), was open to married nurses with the age group of 21 to 35 years and with a certificate of three to five years training in an approved hospital and be state registered. They joined in the rank of Lieutenant and no further promotion, no transfer/posting and change to the Permanent Commission was open to them. Even recruitment for this cadre also had been stopped.

Civil Nurses :
Civilian Sister had been selected to make up the deficiency in the military hospitals. They were paid less than the Commissioned Nursing Officers, but were entitled to dearness allowance, uniform allowance free furnished accommodation.

1951 :
Free ration facility for the Civilian Sisters had been stopped.

1959 :
Government revised the terms and conditions of Civilian Sisters to bring them on par with other civilian employees of the defence force.

1964 College of Nursing :
B.Sc (Nursing) degree course started at Armed Forces Medical College, Pune.

Therefore, the Military Nursing Service is not an auxiliary force or not a different cadre but an integral part of the Indian Army. Military Nursing Service is of the Permanent Nursing Service formulated by the British to provide nursing care for the Indian Troops and the one for which an Ordinance had been promulgated to make them as part of the Indian Army and their status equivalent to the commissioned officer.

And further the Military Nursing Service officers can not be compared with any of the above mentioned cadres like ANS (I), General Service ANS (I), MNS (T), MNS (Local) and the Civil Nurses as their qualification, service conditions, eligibility for appointment in permanent cadre and responsibilities are entirely different. Click here to know more about the origination and the status of the Military Nursing Service