The Norwegian Military Medical Services of the Future – An Effective Resource in the Armed Forces and for Total Defence

FFI-Report 2022
This publication is only available in Norwegian

About the publication

Report number

22/01114

ISBN

978-82-464-3410-0

Format

PDF-document

Size

7 MB

Language

Norwegian

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Marius Nyquist Pedersen Tor Ole Vormdal Marit Lind Thor Engøy
This report presents an analysis of the future role and national tasks of the military medical services (MMS) from a total defence perspective. The analysis is based on interviews, an analysis of legal, political and military documents, and trends that are relevant to the future tasks of the MMS. The report is a part of FFI-project 1609 “The Norwegian Military Medical Services of the Future” which aims to contribute to the adaptation of the MMS to the tasks of the future. Norway has a unified health service, which the MMS is part of, in times of peace, crisis, and armed conflict. Political leadership’s stated ambition for the MMS is that they are primarily limited to address urgent military needs. Governing documents are mainly concerned with the principles of total defence, but contain few concrete descriptions of how they should work in practice. There is an inordinate number of arrangements and mechanisms aimed at securing mutual support and cooperation between actors. No clearly specified total defence structure is described for the sector wherein the MMS and the health services cooperate. Rather, it appears vague and ad hoc. The contemporary cooperative concept for civil-military health-related efforts is primarily based on coordination and liaising, rather than clear lines of leadership and management. Based on the current structure development plan, the MMS will mainly consist of the same capabilities in 2028 as it did in 2005. Neither the MMS’s nor the health service’s collective resources are dimensioned to handle the patient volumes of a national crisis or war. FFI recommends that plans and concepts should be based on adequate casualty estimates or gap analyses. The MMS have signed few bi- and multilateral agreements in order to sustain sufficient capabilities and capacity, in contrast to other NATO nations. FFI recommends that the MMS explore opportunities to enter into such agreements. The coming decades will be defined by cross-sector threats, increasing use of non-military means, and shorter warning times. The Norwegian population will experience moderate growth, and the elderly demographic will comprise a larger share of the population. The workforce will shrink, along with an employment decline. This will increase the dependency ratio towards 2040, and reduce recruitment opportunities for the MMS. FFI considers implementation of new technologies amongst the most important contributors to better civil-military coordination of health resources. This will determine the total defence structure’s ability to conduct rapid, coordinated, and flexible civil-military efforts. The MMS are affected by technological immaturity. FFI recommends that the MMS digitalise work processes and information sharing, as well as implement a flexible digitalisation strategy towards 2040. The need for skilled workers in the health sector increases, exacerbating the MMS’s recruitment challenges. FFI recommends the adoption of a sustainable joint competence management for the MMS and the health sector, and the adoption of measures to ensure retention of health personnel in the Armed Forces. The civilian health service remains the core and most important supplier of health services in the total defence structure. The health service will have the greatest resources for innovation and exploitation of technological advances. FFI recommends that the MMS avoid tailored solutions which are incompatible with civilian solutions.

About the publication

Report number

22/01114

ISBN

978-82-464-3410-0

Format

PDF-document

Size

7 MB

Language

Norwegian

Download publication

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