HC Deb 18 May 1998 vol 312 cc585-7
7. Laura Moffatt (Crawley)

If he will make a statement on the current state of the defence medical services. [41300]

The Secretary of State for Defence (Mr. George Robertson)

We are concerned about shortfalls in manpower and operational medical equipment, which were inherited from the previous Government. We are addressing that as a matter of urgency and will announce our proposals to remedy the situation as part of the strategic defence review.

Laura Moffatt

Does the Secretary of State remember the Defence Committee report on defence medical services that outlined clearly how the services felt downgraded? The Committee found that services were deteriorating, that morale was very low—which we saw clearly for ourselves on an earlier visit to Bosnia—and that people were looking to the new Labour Government to do something about that. Will the Secretary of State give proper recognition to that report through the strategic defence review?

Mr. Robertson

Yes, we will. My hon. Friend, who is not only a member of the current Defence Committee but a nurse, knows precisely the damage that can be done to morale in areas such as defence medical services. The report to which she referred, which was produced unanimously by a Tory-dominated Select Committee in the previous Parliament, states: We conclude that the staff shortages in the Defence Medical Services are so serious that it is not clear whether it will recover. It is possible that the military ethos of medicine in the regular armed forces has been destroyed. It seems incredible that the scaling down of the Defence Medical Services has been effected by MOD in such a manner as to allow a major and potentially critical staff shortage to develop. The new Government have made it a principle priority of the Ministry of Defence to get to grips with the dilemma that was left to us. I am absolutely committed to ensuring that, if we send troops into battle, they will have proper medical back-up.

Mr. Nicholas Soames (Mid-Sussex)

I wish the right hon. Gentleman and his colleagues every success in tackling the extremely difficult problem of maintaining properly trained staff in the defence medical services who are capable of dealing with battle casualties, as well as fulfilling their primary role of looking after the troops in peace time. Does the Secretary of State agree that it is extremely important that health service trusts are prepared to release for military operations their highly trained and skilled nursing staff who are also members of the Territorial Army? Has he made representations to his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health to assess whether the system is working well?

Mr. Robertson

I assure the hon. Gentleman, who had responsibility in this area under the previous Government, that that is precisely what we are doing. The defence medical services cannot survive or thrive without active co-operation from the national health service. We are not seeking to duplicate the national health service, but there are specific needs in the defence field that cannot be met by the NHS. Therefore, the exercise that we are conducting as a key priority of the strategic defence review will ascertain how best current health service resources can be mobilised in times of conflict to ensure that our fundamental obligation as a Ministry, a Government and a Parliament is to those whom we might send into the field. The risk to their health and life should be of paramount importance.

Mr. Gareth R. Thomas (Harrow, West)

Is my right hon. Friend aware of another reference to defence medical services in the Defence Committee report that he mentioned? The report said that defence medical services were in such a state that A choice would have to be made between sending troops without proper medical support or only sending the limited number of troops who could be supported. Will he join me in condemning the Conservative party for failing to deal with the situation in our defence medical services, and will he promise urgent action to tackle that problem?

Mr. Robertson

I can do both. I am not content with simply condemning the previous Government—frankly, most of their members have been forgotten, although their legacy lingers on. They paid a heavy price for some of the calamitous decisions that they took, especially in areas such as defence medical services. We must get to grips with that problem because we shall be judged on it. I am determined that the Government will be judged as putting the priority of looking after battle casualties above practically every other priority in the defence field. I am confident that we shall be able to do that.