The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published a review which praises the exceptional services run by the Defence Medical Services (DMS), the British military’s trauma and rehabilitation unit for personnel injured in battle, as well as military primary care services for service personnel and their families.
The report – based on inspections at land bases in the UK, Germany, Cyprus, a front line field hospital in Afghanistan, as well as a royal navy ship and submarine – follows a review by the Healthcare Commission in 2009. The CQC review found marked improvements since the last series of inspections, including significant changes to governance and assurance systems. The report praised the care provided – highlighting the ‘world class systems in place in the treatment of major injuries, training of staff, design of field hospitals, clinical audits to feedback important lessons, and rehabilitation for injured personnel’.
