§ Mr. LivingstoneTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Gulf War veterans have been examined by the Medical Assessment Programme in connection with Gulf War Syndrome; and if he will give a breakdown of the illnesses identified by this programme. [38604]
§ Dr. ReidThere is no medical or scientific consensus about the nature of the illnesses being suffered by some Gulf veterans or whether there is any commonality between them. The Medical Assessment Programme (MAP) was established by my Department in 1993 with the aim of providing veterans who are concerned about their health following service in the Gulf conflict with a clinical diagnosis of their medical conditions. As at 2 April 1998, 2,285 patients had attended at least one consultation at the Programme and a further 132 had been given appointments and were waiting to be seen. The vast majority of those who have attended the MAP are Gulf veterans themselves. However, where medically appropriate, veterans' partners are also welcome to attend and a small number have done so. In addition, some civilians for whom MOD was responsible during the Gulf conflict have also been seen by the MAP.
A paper analysing the clinical diagnoses of the first 1,000 patients seen by the MAP is close to completion and will shortly be submitted to an external journal for peer review; if accepted, the date of subsequent publication would be a matter for that journal.