Improving Clinical Care for Veteran Trans-Femoral Amputees

Abstract: The rehabilitation pathway for Britain’s Above Knee Amputee Veterans needs to change. The NHS and its staff do their best for the cohort of 160 operationally-wounded men, but it was not set up to cope with such complex injuries and recovery profiles. These are young, fit, determined former Forces personnel with huge potential for society, yet they can experience daily frustration, delay and complications on a needlessly lengthy medical journey. The aim of The White Report is to help the government create the conditions to allow the potential of our injured Service personnel to shine. Its proposals will help build a Service that will deliver the first class care they need and deserve. The Report, a result of extensive research into the experiences of Service veterans who were operationally wounded since 2003, is a positive contribution and offers the nation a great chance to establish a gold standard care system. It signposts the route to better, more lasting therapy, freedom of choice and can even save funds for the NHS and the country. I have spoken to veterans, clinicians and administrators to determine areas of the current system that can be improved. Their testimonies point us towards a new provision for prosthetics that creates a synergy between the Defence National Rehabilitation programme, the NHS and the Hangar Clinic in Oklahoma City, USA.