Summary
In this Report, 'Medical Care for the Armed Forces' (HC 327), the Defence Committee investigated the provision of healthcare for the armed forces, examining six key areas including the treatment of personnel seriously wounded on operations and the procedures for caring for them, from the point of wounding to evacuation and treatment in the United Kingdom.
Other areas examined:
- The rehabilitation work for those with serious musculo-skeletal or neurological injuries.
- The relationship between the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the National Health Service (NHS) in terms of delivering healthcare.
- The care for veterans and service families.
- Mental healthcare, both for service personnel and for veterans.
- The role of reserve personnel in the Defence Medical Services (DMS).
The Committee concludes that clinical care provided by DMS, in conjunction with the NHS, for personnel injured on operations is world-class. Rehabilitation work is also found to be exceptional. Services to the armed forces are delivered by the DMS, NHS, charities, and welfare organisations and this helps link the community with service personnel. The Committee would like to see a wider debate on which services are most appropriately provided by each sector.
The Committee supports the MoD's decision to base it's secondary care around units embedded in NHS Trust but feels that there is scope for more sharing of best practice between the DMS and the NHS. With veterans, the Committee is not sure that adequate procedures are in place to identify veterans and to ensure priority access to services. Mental health is a vital responsibility for DMS but a robust tracking system for veterans is needed. The reserve force's contribution to the delivery of military healthcare is praised but there is a danger of being overstretched.
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