§ Lord Hardy of Wathasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether medical officers from the Reserve Forces are to be called out for mobilised service in support of deployed operations. [HL4381]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach)The Government have authorised the compulsory call out of anaesthetists, general surgeons and orthopaedic surgeons from the volunteer Reserve Forces to support military operations in the Balkans and Afghanistan. Initially, we plan to call out five consultant anaesthetists and two consultant orthopaedic surgeons to report in mid-June and four consultant general surgeons to report in mid-July. Each individual will be mobilised for a period of no more than three months, which allows a little over two months' deployment in an operational theatre with the balance comprising pre-deployment training and post-tour leave. We expect to have to continue using similar, or possible slightly higher, numbers until next spring. The requirement will be reviewed regularly to ensure that the numbers called out are the minimum required to support operations.