Veterans and the Ethics of Reciprocity in UK Primary Healthcare

Abstract: In the UK, The Armed Forces Covenant states that veterans should receive priority treatment where it relates to a condition, subject to clinical need, which results from their service in the Armed Forces. 1 Those injured in service, whether physically or mentally, should be cared for in a way which reflects the nation’s moral obligation to them, whilst respecting those individuals’ wishes. The nature of war and the large number of soldiers surviving with injury (by contrast with previous armed conflicts in history) raise questions about the provision of medical care for injured service personnel and the nature of the government’s duty of care for veterans with long-term, chronic health conditions. By extension, some of that duty is devolved to frontline healthcare services – primary healthcare in the UK. The purpose of this chapter is to explore the nature of this entitlement and moral obligation, and to consider what this might mean in relation to caring for veterans in the primary healthcare. Since primary care is often then the first point of contact between a veteran and the health services, decisions about if and how a veteran ought to be prioritised need to be articulated, including whether veterans may be distinctly vulnerable or needy.