The 60,000th patient has been admitted to the Military Medical Academy’s Emergency Centre since the outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic in our country in March this year when the Military Medical Academy became an on-duty medical institution for the treatment of all non-Covid patients in need of urgent medical care, said the Head of the MMA, Colonel Prof. Dr. Miroslav Vukosavljević, emphasizing that between 200 and 250 patients are examined on a daily basis, while in normal circumstances, around 120 patients in need of urgent medical care are admitted to this Centre.

- Compared to the numbers in the same period last year (1 March to 1 November), we have had 50 percent more patients in the Emergency Centre this year. Practically, since 1 March, we have been in a constant fight against Covid-19 and on duty 24 hours a day - explains Colonel Vukosavljević and states that urgent patient care is not this institution’s only task. This institution has admitted 18,000 patients for inpatient treatment since the outbreak of the epidemic, taking all measures to protect both staff and patients against the Covid-19 epidemic.

The Military Medical Academy became an on-duty medical institution for the treatment of both military and civilian non-Covid patients in March this year, after consultations with a team of medical experts from the People's Republic of China. The National Crisis Response Team for the prevention of Covid-19 decided that the hospital was not suitable for the admission and treatment of patients infected with the coronavirus due to the central ventilation system. An admission-triage unit was immediately set up in front of the Military Medical Academy, unique in that it has a surgical and inpatient-diagnostic part, as well as a triage centre fully equipped for diagnosing all conditions and differential diagnosis between Covid and non-Covid patients.
With the arrival of the third wave of the coronavirus, as of 30 October, the Military Medical Academy has again become a 24/7 on-duty medical institution for the treatment of all citizens in need of urgent medical assistance.
An additional task of the Military Medical Academy in the fight against Covid-19 is the engagement of its medical and non-medical staff in Covid hospitals. Colonel Vukosavljević cites the Covid hospital of the Military Medical Centre "Karaburma" and the temporary Covid hospital in Belgrade's "Štark Arena". - The military hospital "Karaburma" has been fighting against Covid since the beginning of April, and the Military Medical Academy provides 99 percent of the staff for that hospital, not only medical, but also logistic and other staff. So far, that hospital has taken care of about 1,000 Covid patients - points out the Head of the Military Medical Academy and emphasizes that the command staff of the temporary Covid hospital in "Štark Arena" is also from the Military Medical Academy.
There is no break for military doctors and medical staff. Regardless of the workload brought on by the Covid-19 epidemic, which they encounter every day, the employees of the Military Medical Academy continue, as from day one, to help all the citizens of our country in the fight for a healthy life. In order to meet all the challenges in that fight as efficiently as possible, due to an increased workload, more than 500 medical and non-medical staff have been employed on permanent basis in the military health care last year and this year, and most of them have been appointed at the Military Medical Academy. Colonel Miroslav Vukosavljević calls on citizens to help themselves and doctors by adhering to all anti-epidemic measures, and adds that the MMA will continue investing in its staff, infrastructure and modern equipment for the treatment of patients in order to remain a strong support to the health system of our country.