Care of Wounded British Vets Draws Fire

By THOMAS WAGNER

LONDON – Wounded British troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are receiving inadequate medical treatment similar to that reported by American veterans, relatives and British media reported Sunday.

Families of the wounded British soldiers have also complained about widespread mental health problems among veterans, with some suggesting that health services in both Britain and the U.S. have been stretched by lack of planning for the conflict.

British Defense Secretary Des Browne said Sunday that an investigation had begun into the treatment of 18-year-old Jamie Cooper, the youngest British soldier wounded in Iraq. He was badly injured in November when a mortar bomb exploded in the southern city of Basra.

The soldier’s older brother, Stephen Cooper, said his family was angry over the medical treatment offered to his brother and others. In a letter to hospital executives quoted by The Observer newspaper, the family complained that Cooper had spent a night lying in his own feces after hospital staff failed to carry out checks and had contracted a potentially deadly infection.

"The families of all the soldiers just want to make sure that they are guaranteed better treatment," Stephen Cooper said.

Responding to the criticism, the Ministry of Defense issued a statement from the military’s surgeon general, Lt. Gen. Louis Lillywhite, defending the treatment of veterans. A survey this year of patients being treated at a military-managed ward at the British hospital for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan found that "all rated their treatment as excellent, very good or good."

Still, Lillywhite said, "When any members of the armed forces, or their family, are unhappy about their treatment then we will investigate with the (National Health Service) on their behalf."

Accusations about problems treating wounded soldiers have also recently dogged the U.S. government, which is accused of allowing conditions at the military’s flagship Walter Reed Army Medical Center to deteriorate.

Congressional hearings have been held in the U.S. on reports of shoddy outpatient health care at Walter Reed. Current and former U.S. officials and patients at the hearings told of neglect, bureaucratic delays and other problems at veterans hospitals and clinics across the country.

The Sunday Times said some British troops suffering from mental problems after service in Iraq and in Afghanistan are waiting up to 18 months for treatment with Britain’s public-funded National Health Service. Veterans are entitled to priority NHS treatment for "disabling conditions" that result from their service, but many are being put on long waiting lists, the paper said.

The Independent on Sunday said an investigation had found that more than 21,000 British service members from Iraq have developed anxiety and depression.

Combat Stress, a charity that runs three homes for veterans with post traumatic stress disorder, also reported an increase in its patient referrals. "The worry is that it is only the bow wave of what will be coming for many years," said charity spokesman Robert Marsh.

The Ministry of Defense told The Associated Press on Sunday that 2,123 British service members had been treated for mental problems after returning home from the Iraq war, as of September.

A ministry spokeswoman said that number represents only about 2 percent of the service members who have been deployed to Iraq. She said their problems have included adjustment disorder, defined as stress related to combat or problems at home, as well as post traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse. She spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with government regulations.