§ The Countess of Marasked Her Majesty's Government:
In the light of the complaints sent to the Minister for the Armed Forces (referred to in the debate on 2 February (H.L. Deb., col. 489)), whether they are satisfied that Gulf War veterans who report to the Medical Assessment Programme (MAP) may do so with confidence; and whether these complaints undermine the credibility of the records collected for 100WA research purposes by MAP doctors since the departure of Group Captain Coker. [HL836]
§ Lord GilbertThe purpose of the Medical Assessment Programme is to undertake clinical assessments of, and provide as full a diagnosis as possible to, Gulf veterans who are concerned about their health. It is not a research programme. However, our policy is to publish anonymised collated results from the MAP from time to time, based on the diagnostic data collected in the course of these assessments. If, as a result of a complaint made or for any other reason, the Ministry of Defence came to believe that any diagnostic data held by the MAP was not valid, then appropriate steps would be taken to ensure that any such deficiency was rectified.
The Government are committed to ensuring that the Medical Assessment Programme has the confidence of both the Gulf veterans themselves and the medical community. For this reason, the Ministry of Defence has already announced that a full audit of the MAP will take place later this year, focusing on all aspects of patient care and on the service provided. We take very seriously any complaints received form Gulf veterans who have attended the MAP and these are thoroughly investigated in each case. Investigations into the matters raised in the two letters referred to by the noble Countess in the debate on 2 March 1998 (Official Report, cols. 488–489) are still in progress.