The hospital was initially established as 7 Indo British General Hospital (7 IBGH) for convalescence of casualties of Second World War.  It was renamed Military Hospital Kirkee on 29 Mar 1949.  Lt Col RC Dracup was posted as Commanding Officer on 20 Apr 1949.  The Hospital moved to its present location at Range Hills on 08 Aug 1949, with a complement of 400 beds.  This location was previously occupied by 32 Defense Battalion.  On 12 Jul 1979, the accommodation of AFMRU and 203 BD Platoon & Pioneer Company was also taken over to accommodation TB patients and OPD.  The bed strength of the hospital kept fluctuating over the years, reaching the lowest of 100 beds during 1953-1956 and the highest of 1097 beds on 31 Oct 1971 during the Indo-Pak conflict.  At present it has 846 beds with an additional 100 crisis expansion beds. 

The emergence of Military Hospital Kirkee as a centre of excellence can be traced through the years by a series of landmarks.

Battle Casualties

The hospital has acquitted itself creditably by treating battle casualties of major operations.  It treated 74 casualties of the Sino-Indian conflict (1962), 458 casualties of the Indo – Pak War (1965), 825 (including 152 Bangladeshis) of the Indo-Pak War (1971), 430 casualties of OP Pawan (1987-1990) and 20 casualties of OP Vijay (1999).

Aid to Civil Authorities

The hospital has provided sterling medical support during major relief operations.  During the Bombay riots, the hospital set up a medical camp at Deonar and treated 2700 victims from 14 – 19 Dec 1992.  As part of OP Sahayata, 84 victims of the Bhuj earthquake were evacuated by air to this hospital for treatment.  During OP Megh, four medical teams were sent for flood relief in Maharashtra during Jun – Jul 2005 and about 25000 civilians were provided medical aid.  Four medical teams were also sent to various locations in Maharashtra for flood relief in 2006.

What sets the hospital apart !

Third largest hospital of Armed Forces – MH Kirkee with authorized 881 beds (excluding 100 crisis expansion beds) is the third largest hospital of Armed Forces after CH(SC) and Base Hospital, Delhi Cantt.
Largest Orthopaedic Centre – The 175 bedded Orthopaedic centre is the largest of its kind in the Armed Forces.
Largest Spinal Cord Injury Centre in South East Asia – The 80 bedded Spinal Cord Injury centre is the largest of its kind in South East Asia.  A total of 3111 Spinal Cord Injury patients have been treated here over the years since 1968.  Presently, 52 patients are undergoing treatment at the centre.

Part of Unique Rehabilitation Complex

This hospital along with the Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre and Queen Mary Technical Institute forms a unique rehabilitation complex for Spinal Cord Injury patients of our country in general and Armed Forces in particular.

Pioneer in Joint Replacement

This hospital pioneered joint replacement Surgery and Arthroscopy in the Armed Forces.  State of the art joint replacement surgery is undertaken here.  A record 80 Joint Replacements were carried out in the year 2007.