A Legion survey shows that priority treatment for service
injuries is still not a reality, reports Jenny Priest
The story of Paul McClintock (far right), a former Rifleman
with a serious back injury who had never received priority treatment from the
NHS (Legion Summer 2008), prompted many readers to contact us.
Some were in the
same position as Paul, others were unaware of their entitlement to priority
treatment and wanted to know more. What was very clear was that readers’
experiences echoed the findings of our surveys on priority treatment: low
awareness among
war pensioners and GPs, and poor delivery on the ground.
Our first survey of war pensioners took place just before
the Government announced the extension of priority treatment to all veterans
with a service-related illness or injury, something that applied to an
estimated 4.8 million people.
The announcement, in November 2007, generated significant
press coverage and letters were sent to all Primary Care Trusts to remind them
of their duty to provide eligible veterans with priority treatment.
The Legion welcomed the extension, but remained concerned
about how priority treatment would be more effectively delivered. We promised
to carry out another survey, 12 months after the extension came into force, to
find out if it had made a difference.
In spring 2009, leading market research company Ipsos-MORI
undertook two surveys on behalf of the Legion, to find out what, if anything,
had changed. The first survey, of 500 GPs across England and Wales, revealed
little improvement in levels of awareness or delivery.
Despite the publicity surrounding the extension, 81% of GPs
said they knew very little, or nothing at all, about priority treatment.
Furthermore, 85% of GPs answering had not informed secondary care providers of
a veteran’s entitlement
to priority treatment in the past 12 months.
The second survey asked 491 war pensioners about their
experiences of priority treatment. Only 11% reported being treated ahead of
non-emergencies on their most recent visit to hospital for their
service-related condition, compared to 10% in the previous survey of war
pensioners in 2007. This indicates that there has been no real improvement in
the number of veterans receiving priority treatment since the extension came
into force in January 2008.
However, there was at least a sliver of positive news, as it
seems veterans themselves are now more aware of their entitlement. Over a third
of war pensioners, 36%, knew of their entitlement to priority treatment.
Clearly, there is still much to be done. Unfortunately, the
survey results suggest that despite the extension of priority treatment, the
majority of war pensioners may still not be receiving the priority treatment
they deserve. Messages about priority treatment are not getting through to GPs,
and while awareness may be growing among veterans, it remains far too low.
The Legion is committed to holding the Government to its
lifelong duty of care for those who serve and to finding a way to make priority
treatment work in practice. To this end, we are producing a range of materials,
in partnership with the Department of Health, to inform veterans about their
entitlements, including priority treatment, and to help them access the care
and support they need.
The leaflets and posters will feature issues such as mental
health, prosthetics and hearing loss, and we aim to have them displayed in GPs
surgeries, Citizens Advice Bureaux, libraries and other suitable locations.
The Legion is also looking at options to send leaflets
direct to veterans. Although the
materials will be written for veterans, it will be sending them to GPs and
other health professionals, to try to raise awareness of priority treatment
across the board.
The Legion hopes this will improve knowledge, which will in
turn lead to more effective delivery of priority treatment. Securing a system
of priority treatment that really works remains a key priority for the Legion
and we will continue to call upon the Government to make the scheme effective,
deliverable and truly beneficial for veterans.
Keep an eye out for details on the materials for veterans in
future Legion publications.
Priority treatment is part of the Legion’s
Election Manifesto
