§ 86. Mr. Dribergasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Defence the present policy of his Department on the treatment and discharge of Service men who undergo amputation of limbs as the result of battle injuries or accidents sustained on duty; and why the former policy, under which such men were retained in the Forces until they were fitted with, and able to use, artificial limbs, was changed.
§ Mr. BirchThe rules governing the treatment and discharge of men who 159W undergo the amputation of a limb are now the same as for those suffering from other kinds of disability and were revised by the previous Government to secure this uniformity. Men receiving hospital treatment as in-patients may continue to do so for up to five months before being brought before a medical board to determine their fitness for further service and, when invaliding and terminal leave is taken into account, their final discharge may be up to eight months after cessation of duty.
For those who have undergone amputation, this period is usually quite long enough to cover the fitting, and practice in the use, of an artificial limb. If, however, the hon. Member has in mind a case where, despite these arrangements, the individual appears to have been discharged from the Service prematurely, I should be glad if he will bring it to the notice of the appropriate Service Department.