The General Director of National Defence Policy and International Relations of the Ministry of National Defence participated in the 28th Medical Conference of the Armed Forces, held in Thessaloniki from 3 to 6 November 2022
The Medical Conference of the Armed Forces is an institutionalized initiative of the Armed Forces Medical Corps with a continuous and successful course for fifty years, offering participants the opportunity to develop topics of health interest through an interdisciplinary approach and analysis, contributing to the emergence of modern trends in medicine and related health sciences.
The conference also gave doctors and health staff of all specialisations the opportunity to acquire specialised knowledge and skills from everyday medical practice at both theoretical and operational levels.
Dr. Konstantinos Balomenos, on the 1st day of the Conference’s proceedings, co-chaired a round table on “The contribution of the Armed Forces to Operation ‘Freedom’”, with the Chairman of the Conference and the Director of the Health Directorate of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, Lieutenant General Dimitrios Chatzigeorgiou.
Prestigious members of the Medical Corps who played a key role in managing the Coronavirus health crisis also attended the meeting. More specifically, among the speakers were:
• Colonel (MCV) Veterinary Officer, HNDGS/HDG, Christos Vamvakidis, for the contribution of the Armed Forces to the management of the pandemic.
• Colonel (MCN) Kyriaki Peleki for the establishment and overall management of the Mega Vaccine Centers.
• Colonel (MCN), 3rd AC/O, Konstantinia Karathanasi for the Mega Vaccine Center of Thessaloniki and his contribution to the vaccination of Northern Greece.
• Commander (MCN), of Athens Naval Hospital, Chrysoula Chatzilia, for the organisation and operation of the Hellenic Navy Vaccination Center.
• Lieutenant colonel (MCN) ret., Assistant Professor, Department of Nursing of the University of Thessaly, Maria Malliarou, for the factors that influenced the attitude of health professionals to vaccination for Covid-19 at international level.
During his speech, the General Director of National Defence Policy and International Relations Dr. Konstantinos Balomenos, after thanking all the members of the Medical Corps and the Armed Forces for their contribution to the fighting against the Coronavirus pandemic, referred to the actions of the Ministry of National Defence to plan and coordinate this national effort.
In particular, the General Director focused on the self-sacrifice of the members of the Armed Forces who, despite the risks to their lives, contributed to a successful national effort.
Finally, Dr. Balomenos referred to the difficulty of this effort (being able in a crisis situation to plan and implement an unprecedented national vaccination campaign for citizens) and to the lessons learned from the crisis process (supply chain management, crisis response according to the holistic approach, response to criticism, etc.).
On the 2nd day of the Conference, 4 November 2022, Dr. Konstantinos Balomenos, in collaboration with Captain Vassiliki Roka (MCN), Director HNGS/HD3, organised a training course on the topic of “Health Crisis Communication Management”.
The final assessment of the training course was made by the Associate Professor, Scientific Associate, Secretary General for Telecommunications & Posts, Ministry of Digital Governance, Ms Angeliki Bistraraki.
During the proceedings of the training course, the General Director gave an introductory lecture on the communication environment of crises, as well as on the communication strategies used by crisis managers to protect, or reconstruct, their image in course of the crisis, in case it is affected. Then, a simulation exercise followed, where participants were asked to manage a health crisis in terms of communication.
