HL Deb 21 February 2005 vol 669 cc167-8WA
Lord Morris of Manchester

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many British service personnel deployed in Iraq have been hospitalised in consequence of hostile action, accidents or other incidents since the conflict started in March 2003; and how many of them for more than one month, three months and six months. [HL865]

Lord Bach

Records are not held centrally regarding the numbers of British service personnel hospitalised as a consequence of hostile action, accidents or other incidents since the start of conflict in Iraq in March 2003. As a result, we are also unable to detail how long such personnel were hospitalised for. However, our records do show that as at 29 January, the United Kingdom has conducted 2,915 medical evacuations from Iraq since February 2003. This includes a small number of entitled civilians and Iraqis.

Figures are also available for personnel who have been admitted to Selly Oak hospital in Birmingham, which treats the majority of those who are medically evacuated and hospitalised in the UK. As of 20 January 2005, 875 service personnel deployed in Iraq have been hospitalised at Selly Oak. These admissions were for reasons of illness and injury, of which the majority were not combat related.