Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that NHS (a) information systems and (b) clinical protocols are interoperable with those used by (i) Defence Medical Services, (ii) Programme Cortisone and (iii) other defence initiatives.

Programme CORTISONE will provide the Defence Medical Services (DMS) with an up-to-date electronic healthcare information management system. One of the programme’s objectives is to enable greater interoperability with NHS information systems and the electronic transfer of medical records between the NHS and DMS. This capability is in development and expected to be implemented in the next one-two years.

The DMS and the NHS both follow National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in the clinical care and the management of patients. All our professionally qualified medical and dental staff are registered with the National Governing Bodies and adhere to the same national standards as all other NHS healthcare professionals. Defence Healthcare Regulations are aligned to those of the Care Quality Commission (CQC), who are commissioned by the Defence Medical Services Regulator to ensure standards align with the NHS.

Military doctors, nurses and Allied Health Professionals are permanently based in NHS trusts across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Working in the NHS enables DMS personnel to maintain the skills they require to support military operations across the globe, whilst also providing essential support to our NHS and the general public as a whole.

DMS is working collaboratively on a number of projects with the NHS. The joint collaboration at Catterick Integrated Care Centre (CICC) is the first of its kind between the MOD and NHS. CICC will provide a unique integrated care centre, providing medical services for military personnel based at Catterick Garrison and primary and community NHS services for members of the public and military families.