Armed Forces: General Practitioners
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that armed forces GPs (a) maintain up-to-date skills in the delivery of emergency and urgent care and (b) have access to appropriate NHS (i) placements and (ii) training opportunities.
Answered by Al Carns
Armed Forces GPs have a unique scope of practice and develop military and medical experience and skills throughout their career.
The General Practice programme for the Armed Forces personnel includes ‘Operational Preparedness’ courses covering areas of practice which are unique to Service and beyond the core licensing standard. The curriculum includes clinical leadership; occupationally focused primary care; pre-hospital medicine; force health protection and operational medicine. The 2025 Operational Preparedness course is using immersive simulation methodologies to develop skills in pre-hospital emergency care; medical planning; environmental health and other military medical specialist training.
Once qualified as a GP, extensive continuing professional development ensures that Armed Forces GPs maintain up-to-date skills through training, experience, exercise and deployment. Specific pre-deployment and mission-specific training incorporates individual and collective training, validation and assurance events. NHS and other medical placements, including pre-hospital care, may also be facilitated as required to develop a GP for their operational role supporting military operations across the globe.
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