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| Thousands of soldiers 'off sick' | Thousands of soldiers 'off sick' |
| (1 day later) | |
| Up to one in 14 soldiers may be unfit for active service through sickness or injury, figures suggest. | Up to one in 14 soldiers may be unfit for active service through sickness or injury, figures suggest. |
| According to the Ministry of Defence, 10 battalions recently sent to Iraq and Afghanistan left 400 sick behind. | According to the Ministry of Defence, 10 battalions recently sent to Iraq and Afghanistan left 400 sick behind. |
| Tory MP Patrick Mercer, who obtained the figures, said if this were typical, it could mean 7,000 troops were unfit. | Tory MP Patrick Mercer, who obtained the figures, said if this were typical, it could mean 7,000 troops were unfit. |
| He said this under-manning, which comes on top of a 3,800 troop shortfall, was "absolutely debilitating", particularly for Royal Artillery and infantry units. | He said this under-manning, which comes on top of a 3,800 troop shortfall, was "absolutely debilitating", particularly for Royal Artillery and infantry units. |
| Shortages 'acute' | Shortages 'acute' |
| Mr Mercer, a former infantry commander, told BBC News: "It distresses me that units such as 2nd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment are carrying up to 20% of their strength as long-term sick - in other words, people that can't deploy to the front. | Mr Mercer, a former infantry commander, told BBC News: "It distresses me that units such as 2nd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment are carrying up to 20% of their strength as long-term sick - in other words, people that can't deploy to the front. |
| "Therefore when 2 Yorks, for instance, are sent to Afghanistan, they've got to find 100 odd soldiers from elsewhere to take their place." | "Therefore when 2 Yorks, for instance, are sent to Afghanistan, they've got to find 100 odd soldiers from elsewhere to take their place." |
| He told the Daily Telegraph the under-manning was "an albatross" over commanders' heads and a "liability" in time of war. | He told the Daily Telegraph the under-manning was "an albatross" over commanders' heads and a "liability" in time of war. |
| The paper says troop shortages are so acute that elements of six battalions will be needed to do the work of four when the next brigade is deployed to Afghanistan this spring. | The paper says troop shortages are so acute that elements of six battalions will be needed to do the work of four when the next brigade is deployed to Afghanistan this spring. |
| A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "The use of elements from a number of battalions is not new and the current deployment of 52 Brigade contains forces from four infantry battalions and two other battalions. | A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "The use of elements from a number of battalions is not new and the current deployment of 52 Brigade contains forces from four infantry battalions and two other battalions. |
| "Details of individual units programmed to deploy will be announced shortly. Battle casualty replacements are provided as and when required by the chain of command." | "Details of individual units programmed to deploy will be announced shortly. Battle casualty replacements are provided as and when required by the chain of command." |
| The figures come a week after the defence select committee said it was deeply concerned that the armed forces had been operating above their resourcing level for seven of the past eight years. | The figures come a week after the defence select committee said it was deeply concerned that the armed forces had been operating above their resourcing level for seven of the past eight years. |
| Your comments: | |
| These figures are quite right. It is affecting every single unit in the army - people are not given the time to rehabilitate properly after an injury. The very nature of what we do is hard and demanding and does result in the odd injury - most have been injured at one time or another. However, increasingly busy periods of time between deployments means that soldiers are not given the time to meet appointments with a dedicated physiotherapist. When they are in camp the army medical services are so overstretched that it can be months before appointments are made available. This problem stretches to the dental side of things, too.An ex officer, Bournemouth | |
| I think it is absolutely outrageous the way our service personnel are treated for injuries etc. incurred whilst serving in the military. To treat them as regular NHS patients is not only having an effect on the moral of these brave poor souls but is obviously not working. The time spent treating and recovering from these injuries is taking far longer. Hence the resulting numbers awaiting medical treatment.David Harper, Cheltenham | |
| Sadly, many soldiers unfit for operations are waiting weeks and months for routine treatments such as a hernia repair operation or knee cartilage surgery. In times gone by these would have been dealt with within a couple of weeks and the soldiers would be back to work more quickly than the time taken to get an out-patient appointment now.Ex-Army Major, Wiltshire | |
| I'm a TA officer cadet and have been suffering from an injury for some time now. The injury was caused by Army training and when it happened the correct paperwork wasn't filled out, something i only found out months later. I was off sick from my civilian job for months without pay (the Army should have paid me on my daily Army rate because my civilian job didn't cover me). I've had no support from the Army and have had to be treated on the NHS which means long waiting lists for physio sessions that could easily be done my Army physiotherapists. I feel that i should have had much more support from the Army and I'm considering leaving the TA because of the way I've been treated.P, Northumberland |