Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what procedures are in place to enable effective handover of medical records from Defence Medical Services to the NHS for medically discharged personnel.

When an individual leaves the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) recognises the importance of facilitating the transfer of healthcare information to their civilian healthcare provider(s).

On leaving Defence Medical Services (DMS) care, Service personnel are provided with a medical care summary, known as an FMed133, and advised to register with an NHS GP and provide them a copy of their FMED 133. If a patient’s full DMS health record is required, this is provided on request to their NHS GP.

To improve the transfer of healthcare information, DMS is working towards the greater interoperability with NHS systems and the electronic transfer of medical records from DMS to NHS GPs.

Under Programme CORTISONE, the MOD has awarded a £7.8 million contract to Leeds software company, The Phoenix Partnership, to provide a modern electronic healthcare records system for the Armed Forces. Scheduled for roll out in 2027, this will digitalise military medical records and integrate MOD systems with the NHS.