Written question asked by Lord Harper (Conservative) on Tuesday, 5 December 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 7 December 2006. It was answered by Derek Twigg (Labour) on Tuesday, 19 December 2006 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

NHS Treatment: War Pensioners

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his assessment is of the level of communications between NHS trusts and clinicians on war pensioners' entitlement to priority NHS treatment.

Answer: War pensioners, including recipients of awards under the armed forces compensation scheme, are entitled to NHS priority examination and treatment for conditions accepted as due to service. Priority is primarily a function of clinical need and is determined by the clinician in charge, subject only to emergency and other urgent cases.Regular reminders about priority treatment for war pensioners are circulated by the health services to senior NHS managers who are tasked to ensure that relevant clinical staff are aware.The Ministry of Defence and its Veterans Agency receive feedback from individual war pensioners and ex-service organisations on the delivery of priority treatment. Where necessary, the Department takes up individual cases with the relevant health authority.

Secondary information