Author: Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent
Publication: Telegraph
Date: October 2, 2006
URL: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/10/02/ntroops02.xml
A paratrooper wounded in Afghanistan was threatened
by a Muslim visitor to the British hospital where he is recovering.
Seriously wounded soldiers have complained
that they are worried about their safety after being left on wards that are
open to the public at Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham.
On one occasion a member of the Parachute
Regiment, still dressed in his combat uniform after being evacuated from Afghanistan,
was accosted by a Muslim over the British involvement in the country.
"You have been killing my Muslim brothers
in Afghanistan," the man said during a tirade.
Because the soldier was badly injured and
could not defend himself, he was very worried for his safety, sources told
The Daily Telegraph.
A relative of the Para said the man had twice
walked on to the ward where two other soldiers and four civilians were being
treated without once being challenged by staff.
"It's not the best way to treat our returning
men," he said. "They are nervous that these guys might attack them
and, despite being paratroopers, they cannot defend themselves because of
their injuries."
The Ministry of Defence, which said that it
had no record of threatening incidents, indicated that there was a military
security presence at the hospital and it co-operated closely with local police.
A MoD spokesman said there was "appropriate
security" at Selly Oak for the 11 servicemen currently being treated.
But Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary,
called the treatment of wounded troops "an absolute disgrace".
"They should be in completely separate
wings even if this means shutting down entire NHS wards. It is a betrayal
of our troops having them treated in mixed and open wards. Those who have
been injured on operations must be with those who understand their predicament
in a secure environment.
"The Defence Secretary should be having
urgent talks with the Health Secretary to do this otherwise this Government's
commitment to our Armed Forces is nothing but talk."
There is also resentment among serving troops
unhappy about being treated in a NHS hospital that they believe is unsuitable
for military patients.
Soldiers on operations say they would rather
receive a more serious injury and go to the top American military hospital
in Ramstein, Germany, than end up in a NHS hospital.
They now half jokingly refer to getting "a
Boche rather than a Blighty" in reference to the wounds that would send
them home. Ramstein has an outstanding unit for brain surgery, and neurological
intensive care beds in Britain are in short supply. "The blokes see it
that if you are unlucky you get wounded and go to the UK at the mercy of the
NHS, but if you get a head wound you get sent to Ramstein in Germany where
the US has an outstanding medical facility," said an officer serving
in Afghanistan.
"It also does not do morale much good
knowing that within 18 hours of being wounded you could wake up in a NHS hospital
with a mental health patient on one side and an incontinent geriatric on the
other."
The latest figures show that 86 troops have
been injured in Afghanistan during the past six months of fighting. More than
600 soldiers have been flown back to Britain after being injured on operations
abroad since 2003 with most treated at Selly Oak, which is also the headquarters
of the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine.
In the past decade the seven military hospitals
in Britain, Germany and Cyprus have been closed. The remaining military hospital
at Haslar, Portsmouth, is expected to be sold to developers next year.