In depth: MoD feels strain of Afghan wounded
Afghan wounded straining UK military medical facilities
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Wednesday, 10, Feb 2010 12:20
By Richard James.
Military medical facilities in the UK and Afghanistan are coming under increased pressure due to a serious rise in the rate of illness and injury among service personnel.
A study from the National Audit Office (NAO) has found the number of minor injuries suffered on operations by British troops has almost double in three years.
The authors of the report claim medical facilities in the UK, at Selly Oak and Headley Court, are now coming under "increasing pressure" to treat casualties, while the main field hospital in Afghanistan, Camp Bastion, is now working close to capacity.
In response to the increasing casualty numbers, the NAO has called on the Ministry of Defence to develop contingency plans to deal with the expected problem back in the UK.
Reported rates of disease and minor injury in Afghanistan have almost doubled from four to seven per cent in recent years, official figure show. The likely causes are believed to include basic living conditions at some forward operating bases, the intensity of operations and improved reporting.
Between October 2001 and October 2009, 522 UK military personnel were seriously injured on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. And since 2006 personnel on operations have attended medical facilities 125,000 times for minor injury and illness, with a further 1,700 times for mental health conditions.
The NAO has estimated the cost of medical care provided as a result of military operations stood at £71 million in 2008-09.
Commenting on the findings, Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, said today: "The good news is that my report has found that treatment for seriously injured personnel is highly effective.
"Alongside this positive finding, we point out the need to continue to improve contingency planning for facilities in the UK in the context of a longer term conflict, and the importance of increased efforts to prevent disruption due to rising levels of short term illness."
Also today the Ministry of Defence has also come in for criticism for the insufficient 'readiness levels' of some parts of the armed forces.
A separate report from the Commons defence committee has recommended the forthcoming Strategic Defence Review, due after the general election, should look at the extreme pressure UK troops are under.
According to MPs the armed forces have been deployed above the defence planning assumptions - the level at which they are structured and funded - for the last seven years.
Chairman of the committee, James Arbuthnot, said: "Readiness levels are low but this does not mean that the armed forces are not prepared for the current operation in Afghanistan nor that they could not react in an emergency.
"There are encouraging signs that readiness has improved since the withdrawal from Iraq. But the Strategic Defence Review will need to take account of the current low readiness levels of the armed forces and the urgent need for recuperation."
The Commons report highlights several shortfalls in readiness, including the cancelling of major joint exercises and the fact some Harrier pilots have little or no training in taking off from aircraft carriers at night.
The report calls on the MoD to make training for those capabilities which have not been exercised in recent or current operations a priority for recuperation.
There is also concern that significant numbers of troops and key support personnel are being deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan more frequently than would be liked, breaking 'harmony guidelines'.
Defence secretary Bob Ainsworth revealed in the government's defence green paper earlier this month the armed forces faced much tighter budgets in the near future as a result of the country's woeful public finances.
Mr Ainsworth is set to announce the findings of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme Review on Wednesday.
The review will look into key features of the scheme such as current compensation levels of for injured personnel and how individual claims are evaluated.