§ Mr. ToddTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on the Gulf Veterans Medical Assessment Programme; and if he will make a statement. [67462]
§ Mr. Doug HendersonThe Gulf veterans' Medical Assessment Programme (MAP) was established in 1993 to provide as full a diagnosis as possible to UK veterans of the 1990–91 Gulf conflict who are concerned about their health. So far, just under 3,000 Gulf veterans have been referred to the MAP, which continues to offer patients an appointment within six weeks of their referral. Fewer than 40 patients are currently waiting to be seen by the MAP for the first time.
A paper describing the clinical findings from the first 1,000 patients examined at the MAP was published in the British Medical Journal on 30 January. A copy of the paper is available in the Library of the House.
A full audit of the MAP, covering patient care and the service provided by the Programme, is currently under way. The results of this will be published in due course.