Written question asked by Countess of Mar (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Astor of Hever (Conservative) on Tuesday, 24 January 2012.
Armed Forces: Sickness Records
- Question
- To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Astor of Hever on 30 November 2011 (WA 67), whether any part of the Ministry of Defence maintains records of sickness and injury amongst members of HM Armed Forces similar to NHS Read Codes; and, if so, whether they are able to identify the numbers of men and women who suffer the effects of organophosphate poisoning.
- Answer
-
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) hold records of sickness and injury for members of the Armed Forces on the Defence Medical Information Capability Programme (DMICP). Data entered in DMICP relating to diagnosis are recorded using Read codes. As at 1 December 2011, excluding mobilised reservists, fewer than five of the 189,000 serving members of the UK Armed Forces have been identified with a diagnosis of organophosphate poisoning. For UK Armed Forces personnel no longer in service, the MoD has been able to identify fewer than five personnel diagnosed with organophosphate poisoning whilst they were serving but who are no longer in service as at 1 December 2011. The use of the DMICP is still relatively new and, while the vast majority of personnel have their medical records on the system, a small number (less than 1 per cent) of Armed Forces personnel do not currently have a DMICP record. DMICP rollout started in February 2007, and rollout continues for Royal Navy ships and some bases overseas. By the beginning of 2010, the majority of UK and German medical centres were DMICP-enabled but data prior to 2010 are incomplete. Personnel who served before 2010 but were not registered at a DMICP-enabled medical centre between 2007 and the time they left service will not have a DMICP record. For example, a service person who joined in 2003 and left in 2008, and was not registered at a DMICP medical centre will not have a DMICP record. It should be noted that if diagnostic information relating to organophosphate poisoning is only entered as free text in a person's medical record instead of by using the Read codes, it will not be included in figures presented as this information is not captured in the DMICP data warehouse. Data taken from the DMICP data warehouse have not been validated against individual patient records, as this would have incurred disproportionate cost. Historical medical data were uplifted into DMICP from legacy systems and it is not possible to verify the completeness of these data. Finally, in line with the Defence Analytical Services and Advice Health Information's rounding policy, medical numbers smaller than five have been suppressed to avoid the potential disclosure of personal medical information. For this reason, no gender breakdowns are provided.
Secondary information
- Type
- Written question
- Reference
- 14895; 734 c197-8WA
- Session
- 2010-12
- Related items
- Subjects
- Armed forces Poisoning Medical records Organophosphates
- Link
- View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk
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- 2013-11-20 01:54:09 +0000
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