Operation Granby: Medical Assessment Programme (Hansard, 4 June 1997)

§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Gilbert)
My Lords, all patients referred to the Ministry of Defence's medical assessment programme are diagnosed as fully as possible and appropriate treatment is recommended to the doctor who made the referral. Where it is not possible to arrive at a complete diagnosis, it is normally possible to recommend treatment for specific symptoms. For those veterans who are still serving treatment is carried out by the Defence Medical Services, while for ex-service personnel it is arranged by the patient's GP through the National Health Service. The healthcare of other members of veterans' families is normally a matter for the National Health Service. However, where medically appropriate, veterans' partners are welcome to attend the medical assessment programme.

§ The Countess of Mar
My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for that comprehensive reply. Is he aware that on 13th March 1997 I had a meeting with the noble Earl, Lord Howe, and three Gulf veterans? It was the first time that Gulf veterans had seen a Minister. I am delighted that this Government have already seen two groups of Gulf veterans about this matter. At that meeting I was promised that we would be given answers as quickly as possible. It is now three months since the meeting. Will the Minister please tell me when I shall receive replies to the questions that were posed at that meeting? Is he also aware that there is profound disturbance about the way in which the medical assessment programme is working and that up to 100 patients who have been assessed under that programme are now saying they will attend no further assessments because they are unhappy about the way in which Lieutenant Colonel Bhatt is dealing with them? On the other hand, 30 members of the Princess of Wales Regiment at the Dale Barracks in Chester are being refused referral by their medical officers. Will the Minister say what he will do about those two matters?

§ Lord Gilbert
My Lords, first, I thank the noble Countess for her extremely kind remarks at the beginning of her Question. I was not aware that there were questions to which she was awaiting an answer. I shall look into the matter as soon as I return to my office this afternoon. Nor was I aware that there was a degree of dissatisfaction on the part of certain veterans with the treatment that they had been receiving. I am quite sure that the Minister for the Armed Forces will look into that as his attention is drawn to it, again later today.
643 I fully recognise that the noble Countess has taken a serious and dedicated interest in these matters. The door to my office is as open to her at any time as was that of my predecessor.

§ Baroness Park of Monmouth
My Lords, the previous Defence Committee in another place recommended that an account should be given as to why Parliament was misled on the issue of organophosphates and an account given of the action taken. Will the Minister confirm that the recommendation of that committee that a report should be made by 1st October of this year will be adhered to?

§ Lord Gilbert
My Lords, I have full confidence that the Minister for the Armed Forces will meet the recommended dateline of the House of Commons Defence Committee. Other than that I do not think that there is anything I can usefully add. The points about which the noble Baroness inquires are being addressed by my honourable friend in another place.

§ Lord Burnham
My Lords, further to the noble Countess's Question regarding those who are looking after the Gulf veterans, will the Government consider at the same time the possibility of bringing back Group Captain Coker from Washington? It would seem that he is the one man in whom all the veterans have great trust.

§ Lord Gilbert
My Lords, I am happy to bring to my ministerial colleague's attention the noble Lord's recommendation. I am sure that the noble Lord recognises that we receive recommendations from many directions regarding who should be involved in this research. I assure the noble Lord that I shall bring his suggestion to my noble friend's attention.

§ Earl Russell
My Lords, will the Minister join me in congratulating the noble Countess on being the only living evidence for the proposition that Parliament controls the Executive? Since the rest of us lack the noble Countess's skills, does he agree that this story illustrates the urgent need for a freedom of information Act?

§ Lord Gilbert
My Lords, long before I reached this hallowed Chamber, I was warned about the noble Countess and how I would get away with nothing at this Dispatch Box. I have been very careful in the preparation of this Answer, and shall be in all future answers that I give her.

Earl Howe
My Lords, is the Minister aware that we on this side of the House welcome the Government's determination to continue the policy of thorough medical assessment for those who need it? However, will he confirm that organophosphate poisoning cannot be an explanation of so-called Gulf War illness other than perhaps for a very small handful of cases? Can he also confirm that despite the commendably open-minded approach adopted by his department, there 644 is so far very little hard evidence that nerve agent poisoning might be an explanation for unidentified illness?

§ Lord Gilbert
My Lords, I am grateful again to the noble Earl for his preliminary remarks. The fact of the matter is that we are unable to say what the illness is. We are able to acknowledge that people are ill; we cannot say why people are ill. At this stage we cannot confirm that any negligence was involved. The United States, too, has spent tens of millions of dollars on research into these fields. I am afraid that the United States is no further towards finding the truth than, regrettably, so far are we.

§ Lord Avebury
My Lords, the Minister did not answer the question of my noble friend Lord Russell. Does the Minister agree with my noble friend that the work of the noble Countess and the failure of governments over the years to respond to the repeated questions that she puts reinforces the case for a freedom of information Act?

§ Lord Gilbert
My Lords, a freedom of information Act runs much wider than this issue, as I am sure the noble Lord is aware. I am happy to endorse his encomium of the noble Countess. However, as the noble Earl was good enough to acknowledge, this Government are being more open than has been the case with respect to this matter. It is a little harsh to say that this Government have been involved with another Government for some years in misleading the public when we have barely been in power a month.

§ The Countess of Mar
My Lords, perhaps I may say how grateful I am to the House for the kind remarks made.
Is the Minister aware that I have never maintained that organophosphate poisoning or chemical weapon poisoning is the sole cause of the veterans' illness? I rather think that it is a combination of factors, including the vaccinations that they were given. It is no good crying over spilt milk now, but it would have helped considerably if vigorous action had been taken to find the cause of the illness when it was first reported in 1992. We are held back somewhat by the fact that the illnesses have developed and that no cause has been found. Can the Minister say whether this Government will now fund causal research as well as epidemiological studies?

§ Lord Gilbert
My Lords, the noble Countess deserves all the encomia that she has received this afternoon. With regard to the precise nature of the research, I think that I had better see her remarks in writing before I reply because I do not wish to mislead her in any way. I am sure that she will be aware that, as one of his new attacks on this problem, the new Minister for the Armed Forces has addressed himself to the question of multiple vaccinations.