Medical and Psychiatric Support for Service and ex-Service

A comment in the thread about Mr Kember touches a raw nerve about healthcare for the Services and retired Servicemen.

Should the UK have a Veterans Administration in the US mould?

Having got rid of all the old Service hospitals, is there any scope for this, anyway, and should the Chiefs revisit this appalling misjudgement and reinstate decent healthcare for both serving and non-serving personnel?

What springs immediately to mind is that young, previously fit and healthy Servicemen are being injured daily in the Middle East, often losing limbs or suffering severe psychiatric problems. They are returned to UK and pensioned out in due course, leaving the NHS to pick up the pieces in treatment terms, when the individuals need a much more comprehensive level of support.

I have no doubt that our lords and masters will dismiss this with the fact that it would be too expensive to manage, but people who go into situations where they might be killed or seriously injured on behalf of the country should be able to expect such a comprehensive care package when the worst happens. They should also be able to expect to be cared for amongst their peers.

 

Re: Medical and Psychiatric Support for Service and ex-Servi

Oz has this with their DVA

 

Re: Medical and Psychiatric Support for Service and ex-Servi

What always springs to my mind is

Tommy Atkins

I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o' beer,
The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here."
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:
O it's "Tommy this", an' "Tommy that", an' "Tommy, go away";
But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play.

I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside";
But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide,
The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,
O it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide.

Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.
Then it's "Tommy this", an' "Tommy that", an' "Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?"
But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.

We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;
While it's "Tommy this", an' "Tommy that", an' "Tommy, fall be'ind",
But it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind,
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
O it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind.

You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.
For it's "Tommy this", an' "Tommy that", an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's "Tommy this", an' "Tommy that", an' anything you please;
An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool -- you bet that Tommy sees!

 

Re: Medical and Psychiatric Support for Service and ex-Servi

There is the particular problem with psychiatric care that NHS managers are unhappy with anyone remaining on the books. This means anyone with long-term trauma, unless s/he is lucky, sees different trick cyclists each of whom have to re-read the case notes and do not really get the full picture of their patient's state of mind & health that they would, had they developed a conventional, non-"efficiency savings" (ie. cuts) driven, doctor-patient relationship. The lucky ones are those who go to hospitals with inefficient managers. In my view, with this obsession with microeconomics the less efficient the managers the better long term care for patients, especially ex-service personnel.

 

Re: Medical and Psychiatric Support for Service and ex-Servi

Saw a sign in Bournemouth just after WW2 which said " Dogs and sailors keep off the grass"

 

The following may be of interest...

Lords Hansard: 19 Feb 2007, Cols.WA205-207

War Pensioners: Medical Treatment

Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:

What steps they are taking to ensure that war pensioners receive priority treatment from National Health Service trusts and local health authorities for conditions for which they receive a pension or have received a gratuity; and what mechanism is in place to resolve any breakdown in arrangements for priority treatment. [HL1758]

The Minister of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): Standing National Health Service guidance on the right of war pensioners to generally receive priority treatment in NHS hospitals in respect of the condition or conditions for which they receive a pension or received a gratuity is published by the department in a circular in the health service guidelines series numbered HSG(97)31. War pensioners can use the NHS complaints system to resolve any alleged breakdowns in arrangements for priority treatment. This includes ultimately asking the Health Service Commissioner* to investigate their case.
[hr]
*note: The Health Service Commissioner is also called the Ombudsman. The contact details for the English ombudsman is below.

The Health Service Ombudsman for England
11th Floor
Millbank Tower
London
SW1P 4QP

Tel: 0171 217 4051
Text Tel: 020 7217 4066