Question to the Ministry of Defence:

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

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

Personnel are advised to register with an NHS GP one to three months before discharge. On leaving Defence Medical Services (DMS) care, Service personnel are provided with a medical care summary, known as an FMed133, and advised to provide a copy of their FMed 133 to their NHS GP. If a patient’s full DMS health record is required, this is provided on request from 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 and expects to implement changes over the next one-two years.