The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
1.
This Section
addresses:
•
the
arrangements for providing medical care to Service
Personnel;
•
the
provision of medical care and welfare support for seriously injured
Service
Personnel
and their families; and
•
the support
provided for veterans.
2.
The welfare
support provided to Service Personnel and their families is
addressed in
Section
16.1.
3.
The
preparations made for repatriating the bodies of those who lost
their lives
serving on
Op TELIC, how their deaths were investigated, and the support
provided for
bereaved
families are addressed in Section 16.3.
4.
The decision
to deploy to Helmand province in Afghanistan, and the implications
of
that
decision, are addressed in Section 9.
5.
The healthcare
system in the UK comprises three tiers:
•
Primary
care is provided at the first point of consultation, including by
General
Practitioners
(GPs).
•
Secondary
care is provided by medical specialists who do not usually have
first
contact
with patients, including in a hospital. It includes acute
care.
•
Tertiary
care is specialised consultative healthcare, for example for
cancer
management.
6.
Primary care
for Service Personnel in the UK and Service base areas overseas
is
provided by
the MOD’s Defence Medical Services (DMS).1
7.
Secondary care
for Service Personnel is generally provided within the
National
Health
Service (NHS).
8.
Following the
closure of military hospitals in the 1990s, the Government
established
five MOD
Hospital Units (MDHUs) within NHS Trusts. MDHUs are not discrete
military
wards or
units, but comprise medical Service Personnel (including
substantial numbers
of
Reservists) integrated into a host NHS Trust. MDHUs:
•
provide
accelerated access for elective referrals of Service Personnel, to
meet
operational
requirements; and
•
allow
medical Service Personnel to develop and maintain their
skills.
1
Seventh
Report from the House of Commons Defence Committee, Session
2007-2008, Medical
Care for
the Armed
Forces,
HC327.
40