Medical Assessment Programme (MAP): Contact: Dr Ian Palmer, Referrals (map@gstt.nhs.uk)

Freephone: 0800 169 5401 (Medical Assessment Programme), 0800 169 4495 (Veterans Policy Unit) or telephone: 020 7202 8323. Fax: 020 7202 8327

Referrals: GPs and Serving Medical Officers are encouraged to refer patients who fulfil the eligibility criteria and who are concerned that their physical and/or mental health may have suffered as a result of military Service. All GPs and patients receive a copy of the assessment report.

Please refer all cases to: Head of Medical Assessment Programme, Baird Medical Centre, Gassiot House, St Thomas’ Hospital, Lambeth Palace Road, London SE1 7EH.

The Medical Assessment Programme (MAP) was established in July 1993 to examine UK Gulf veterans who were concerned that their health had been adversely affected by service in the 1990/1991 Gulf Conflict. Defence Ministers have extended the role of the MAP in recent years to other groups of ex-service personnel so that they too may benefit from the knowledge and skills developed in assessing veterans with physical or mental health concerns. Veterans who fulfill the following criteria for eligibility and feel they would benefit from seeing a consultant with a military background should seek a referral via their GP to the MAP.

The MAP offers a General Medical Examination for veterans of:

1. The 1990/1991 Gulf War
2. The current operation in Iraq (Operation TELIC)
3. The current operation in Afghanistan (Operation HERRICK)
4. Porton Down Studies

The Map also offers a Mental Health Examination for ex-service personnel with operational service since 1982 (including veterans of the Falklands Conflict).

The MAP is located at St Thomas' Hospital, London and currently staffed by Dr Ian Palmer a Consultant Psychiatrist, qualified General Practitioner and Professor of Military Psychiatry with extensive military experience and knowledge.

The purpose of the MAP is:

1. To assess, and attempt to understand, the physical and psychological difficulties experienced by ex-Service personnel presenting to the service.
2. To provide advice to individuals and health professionals about the mental and physical health of veterans in their care.
3. Where possible, to provide diagnoses and management strategies for individuals and the medical and mental health professionals involved in their care.
4. To collate anonymised statistical information as a resource for study of this population by authorized researchers who have obtained the appropriate ethical clearance. No information about named individuals is given to third parties without written consent from the individuals concerned.

The Department of Health and the Ministry of Defence have launched the first of a number of pilots designed to ensure that NHS health professionals have appropriate support and available expertise they may need to treat veterans with mental health problems. The four UK health departments, the MOD, and the charity Combat Stress, have been working together closely to develop and pilot a new model of community-based mental health care. Centred on the client and GP, these arrangements will make it easier for veterans with concerns about their mental health to seek and access help. The pilots will provide veterans with a service, led by a Community Veterans’ Mental Health Therapist that will offer understanding of the particular issues for those who have served in the Armed Forces. Treatment options will include the commissioning of services offered by Combat Stress. The first pilot has begun in Stafford, which will cover Shropshire and Staffordshire, with similar arrangements expected to begin very shortly in Camden and Islington, and then over the next few months Cardiff, Cornwall, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Scotland.

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NB The information provided here has been submitted to the UKTG but has not been verified. If you wish to rely on this information, please check that these details are accurate and up to date by contacting the service directly.