The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
•
“[H]ealth
surveillance” was carried out on arrival in Iraq and at quarterly
intervals
“in liaison
with Frontier Medical, Capita and HRD”.
•
Three
months after completion of the tour, Capita interviewed the officer
to
assess the
impact of the posting.476
743.
The IPU
explained that pre‑posting procedures were “rigorously followed”
for FCO
staff, but
it had been “unable to confirm this to be the case … for other
government
departments”.
There had been a few cases where individuals the FCO would
not
consider
medically fit to serve in Iraq had arrived at post or medical teams
had identified
their
medical problems at post at the last minute.
744.
The IPU
advised that the FCO did not have the resources to carry out
medical
screening
and hostile environment training for all government staff deployed
to Iraq.
Instead it
would:
“… write to
those departments and contractors most concerned, setting out
our
procedures
and recommend that they either institute something similar or
ensure
their staff
sit the Offshore Operators Association Medical. This is a rigorous
medical
required
for staff working on oil rigs …”
745.
In June 2006,
a member of the FCO HR Directorate briefed two Frontier
Medical
staff in
Basra on the FCO’s process for pre‑posting medical
clearance.477
During
the
discussion,
it emerged that concerns persisted about the fitness of some
contractors
working for
the FCO and other departments. The Frontier Medical staff also
suggested
that
non‑FCO personnel should have to pass a medical similar to that
required for FCO
staff as a
condition of employment in Iraq. The FCO Iraq Directorate was
reported to be
pursuing
the issue.
746.
In July 2006,
DFID officials explained to Mr Benn that, although DFID staff
were
covered by
FCO procedures in most areas, that was not the case for
pre‑deployment
procedures.478
In the
light of FCO concerns about the physical fitness of some
DFID
contractors,
DFID had taken a number of steps, in consultation with the FCO, to
tighten
up
pre‑deployment medical fitness clearance and hostile environment
training, including:
•
asking
staff to complete the FCO‑led fitness pre‑assessment form for
postings
to Iraq;
•
discussing
with the firms recruiting contractors the possibility of all
staff
undergoing
a pre‑assignment medical with a specialist organisation, rather
than
obtaining
medical clearance from their GP;
476
Minute IPU
[junior official] to PS/PUS [FCO], 30 June 2006, ‘Iraq: Review of
Security’ attaching Paper
Iraq Policy
Unit, June 2006, ‘Review of Security of Staff and Missions in
Iraq’.
477
Minute [FCO
junior official] to Asquith, 4 July 2006, ‘Visit by HR Manager to
Basra 14‑19 June 2006’.
478
Minute
MENAD [junior official] to PS/Secretary of State [DFID], 14 July
2006, ‘Information Note:
Security
Update – Iraq’ attaching Paper, ‘DFID planned improvements to
pre‑deployment procedures
July 2006’.
370