HC Deb 06 March 2001 vol 364 c189W
Mr. Matthew Taylor

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department made an assessment of the report produced by the US Institute of Medicine in 1993 entitled, "Veterans at Risk-the health effects of mustard gas and lewisite", while compiling the published message (CEM/CM0/2000/15) on the Porton Down's medical assessment programme from his Department's deputy chief medical officer on 21 November 2000. [152001]

Yvette Cooper

No assessment was made of the report from the United States Institute of Medicine (1993).

The Department's message was aimed at providing general practitioners and health professionals with urgent information on the medical assessment programme, since those seeking to use these facilities would need to be referred by their general practitioners. It was based on recent authoritative reviews, but it was not intended to provide a comprehensive review of the international literature. The names of two consultants in clinical toxicology were given as a source of direct specialist advice for health professions.