Portuguese Republic

Military Medical Service

The Military Health Care System (MHCS), which supports the Portuguese Armed Forces, aims to provide healthcare and health protection services to active military personnel and their families, as well as reservists and pensioners of the Armed Forces. The Military Health Services also provides preventive action, direct patient care, research & development, and training & education of health service personnel. In operations, the MHS plays a fundamental role in establishing and maintaining the operational readiness and combat capability of the Portuguese Armed Forces. Currently, (MHCS) supports the deployment of military personnel in peacekeeping missions, exercises, and civil emergencies. 

Structure

The Military Health Directorate´s mission is to ensure support for the decision of the Armed Forces Chief of Staff in the field of military health, and to guarantee the execution of the strategic vision issued, namely the definition of appropriate resources, capabilities, and skills. The Military Health Directorate also exercises technical and functional authority over the military health bodies and the Services´ health directorates, supervising the functioning of the entire Military Health Service System and ensuring the centralized management of the military health personnel who is placed under their responsibility.

Armed Forces Hospital

Back-up support for the Military Health Care System is provided by the Armed Forces Hospital. This hospital has its main facilities located in Lisboa, on a Military Health Campus, and a structure extension in Porto. In Lisbon, in addition to the role IV structure, there are the Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine Centre, the Aeronautic Medicine Centre and the Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine Centre. In addition to providing hospital care, the hospital is also part of the Training and Education network for qualification of medical and nursing students.

Hospital das Forças Armadas – Polo de Lisboa (HFAR-PL) | Armed Forces Hospital, Lisbon (Google)

Hospital das Forças Armadas – Polo do Porto (HFAR-PP) | Armed Forces Hospital, Oporto (Credits HFAR Porto)

Research and Development

The Military Health Care System also has structures involved in research, development and innovation activities with national and international academic institutes and partnerships with private companies. These activities include physiology and clinical research as well as digital transformation.

Centro de Medicina Subaquática e Hiperbárica (CMSH) | Hyperbaric and Diving Medicine Center (credits Marinha Portuguesa)

Centro de Medicina Aeronáutica (CMA) | Aeronautic Medicine Center (Google)

Number of Medical Personnel

	HOSPITAL		OTHER MILITARY HEALTH STRUCTURES		TOTAL
Human Resources	Military	Civilians	Military	Civilians	Military	Civilians
Physicians	78	78	188	29	266	107
Nurses	167	131	285	12	452	143
Dentists	10	3	24	2	34	5
Health   Technicians	28	88	40	27	68	115
Nutricionists	1	3	1	1	2	4
Psicologists	5	10	38	4	43	14
Pharmacists	10	0	27	3	37	3
Veterinarians	0	0	27	0	27	0
(medical internship)	0	3	75	0	75	3
TOTAL	299	316	705	78	1004	394

Source: From Statistical Yearbook of Portuguese National Defence - 2021 

The diversity of the health services missions is covered by both military and civilian personnel working at the Armed Forces. The health military services comprise different specialized carriers for military physicians, pharmacists, veterinarians and dentists. Military nurses, diagnostic and therapeutic technicians, veterinarian nurses and pharmacy technicians also have autonomous carrier paths. 

Aeromedevac (credits Marinha Portuguesa)

8. Tactical Combat Casualty Care exercises (credits Marinha Portuguesa)

Health support to deployed troops

Portugal has medical facilities (role 1 type) deployed to support Portuguese military personnel in the Central African Republic, Lithuania, Mozambique, Romania, in operations with the Standing NATO Maritime Group One and to provide training and education in Germany.

(status: 28th August 2024)