Armed Forces: Health Services
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 131 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025, updated on 8 July 20025, what progress he has made in ensuring Defence Medical Services share expertise and skills with (a) the NHS and (b) private healthcare providers.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones
There is a strong foundation of cross-Government working between the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), including planning to meet the demands of warfighting and other strategic health emergencies.
A series of workshops involving both the MOD and DHSC are exploring the UK’s ability to deal with various combat scenarios and the treatment of casualties. The MOD is also participating in DHSC’s cross-Government Exercise PEGASUS, the national tier 1 pandemic preparedness exercise set to assess the UK’s ability to respond to a pandemic. Both activities focus on understanding system-wide capacity and capability, potential future need and shared plans for delivery.
Verbatim has judged this answer against the question that was actually asked — answered, partly answered, or evaded. Sign in to see the verdict →