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Armed Forces: Orthopaedics

Answer

Service patients requiring prosthetic limbs will usually be treated at first in an NHS hospital, where they will be fitted with an initial basic limb. At the appropriate stage in their recovery they will be transferred to the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) at Headley Court, Surrey.DMRC is run by the armed forces and contains the Complex Rehabilitation and Amputee Unit, which became fully operational on 1 June 2006. Here, an individually moulded and appropriate prosthetic limb is manufactured on site and tailored to the specific patient. MOD also has a contract with an external prosthetics provider, whose personnel attend DMRC and contribute to the assessment of the individual, A range of technicians and therapists will be involved in the day-to-day care and treatment, including those employed by the prosthetics contractor.A high priority is given to enabling personnel to return to service duty in the same or a similar role if at all possible. During their continuing service career, any routine maintenance of officially-issued prosthetics is provided by the Defence Medical Services at no additional cost to the individual. The costs for this are not recorded centrally, but provision is made in the overall Defence Medical Services budget for all such ongoing treatment and care.If it is not possible for the individual to be retained in the armed forces, or if the individual chooses to leave, they will receive treatment, including therapy and rehabilitation, at Headley Court until they are deemed to have reached a steady state of fitness. They are then taken through a transition from military to NHS care, which will include setting in place the appropriate ongoing medical support at their local NHS regional centre. The cost of such support becomes the responsibility of the: NHS when the individual leaves the service.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

457 c313-4W;457 c297-8W; 119393

Session

2006-07

Subjects

Armed forces Prosthetics

Link

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