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Iraq

Answer

As at 28 May 2006, we very much regret that a total of 113 UK military and civilian defence personnel have died, or are missing presumed dead, while serving on Operation Telic since the start of the campaign in March 2003.Of these, 84 are classed as killed in action, including as a result of hostile action, 29 are known to have died either as a result of illness, non-combat injuries or accidents, or have not yet been officially assigned a cause of death pending the outcome of an investigation. These figures may change as inquests are concluded.During the period March 2003 to the end of April 2006, the best centrally available, verified, figures show that: around 240 UK military and civilian personnel have been treated at the UK's main Field Hospital in Shaibah for wounds received as a result of hostile action and; up to 4,000 UK personnel were medically evacuated from Iraq from all causes, the majority due to accident, illness, or for routine outpatient activities.Separate records for the same period from Notification of Casualty reporting (NOTICAS), show that around 40 UK military and civilian personnel have been categorised as Very Seriously Ill/Injured/Wounded (VSI) from all causes, and that around 75 personnel have been categorised as Seriously Ill/Injured/Wounded (SI) from all causes. These figures include some personnel treated for wounds received as a result of hostile action. The figures are only comprehensive, including personnel treated at non-UK facilities, from April 11 2005 onwards. During the early phases of Operation Telic the tempo of operations meant that the paperwork associated with the NOTICAS process was not always completed properly and we cannot be certain our records are complete.We are working to improve our casualty reporting for Operation Telic. We are currently verifying records from the other Field Hospitals which deployed on Operation Telic including RFA Argus, and are engaging with the US to find out a comprehensive figure on how many personnel were treated at their facilities. As far as we know no UK personnel serving in Iraq were treated on Royal Navy or Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships other than RFA Argus. We are also in the process of transferring the paper records sent back from medical facilities deployed on Telic to the Central Health Records Library.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

74974; 447 c1525-6W

Session

2005-06

Subjects

Casualties Iraq

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk