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Written question asked by Diane Abbott (Labour) on Monday, 15 October 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 17 October 2012. It was answered by Mark Francois (Conservative) on Thursday, 25 October 2012 on behalf of the Department of Health. Ministry of Defence was asked to reply.

Health Services: Armed Forces

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many serving members of the Army have been treated by the NHS for each category of illness in each of the last five years.

[123374]

Answer

I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Primary and intermediate health care for serving members of the Army, wherever they are based in the world, is normally delivered via a combination of Army and Defence primary health care organisations. These provide military general practice, general dentistry, specialist occupational health services, rehabilitation and community mental health.

There may, however, be occasions when Army personnel access the NHS for some services such as out of hours treatment and NHS general practitioners as temporary patients. This generally arises when personnel are staying

at another location away from their unit. Within the UK, all secondary hospital based care is also accessed via the NHS.

Information relating to the number of Army personnel treated by the NHS over the last five years is not currently held by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). However, this should change from April 2013 when, under the NHS Commissioning Rules, the MOD will be provided with data about the services armed forces personnel have accessed.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
123374; 551 cc1034-5W
Session
2012-13
Subjects
Armed forces Health services NHS
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk