The UK Government is investing up to £15m to develop specialist prosthetic and rehabilitation centres for military veterans who have lost a limb in service.
“As a country and as a Government we have a particular duty to servicemen and women injured on operational duty”
Following a review led by Dr Andrew Murrison MP, the programme aims to improve the NHS prosthetic services available to veterans – and ultimately to all amputees in the UK.
The Government will work with service charities and clinical specialists to bring together innovative prosthetic technologies and support services.
Up to £15m has been committed from 2012–2015 to support the measures recommended by the Murrison report, including:
- National commissioning of specialist prosthetic and rehabilitation services for amputee veterans through a small number of multi-disciplinary centres in England.
- Equivalent and complementary NHS provision to be available to veterans through a Disablement Services Centre (DSC) of their choice.
- A refined system of case management, including a comprehensive statement of needs and prescription on transition to the NHS.
- NICE to produce national guidelines for prosthetic prescription and rehabilitation for all amputees.
- The Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court to become part of a Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre more closely integrated with the NHS.
- A programme of military-civilian exchange and capacity building to develop the specialist prosthetic and rehabilitation network.
“As a country and as a Government we have a particular duty to servicemen and women injured on operational duty,” said Prime Minister David Cameron. “This report maps out a clear strategy for ensuring that those brave people can be confident they will receive the same levels of access to prosthetic limbs and specialist care from the NHS as they do at Headley Court.”
Dr Andrew Murrison MP commented: “I hope the action points I have offered honour the military covenant and benefit military amputees, but I have been clear that they should also help to improve the service available to all limb centre users.”
Source: Medtech Business
published: October 28, 2011 in: News, Offline, Orthopaedics, Plastic/Reconstructive