UK statistical indifference to military casualties in Iraq

Abstract

Sheila Bird's Comment on the under-reporting of British casualties in Iraq1Bird SM UK statistical indifference to its military casualties in Iraq.Lancet. 2006; 367: 713-715Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (11) Google Scholar is a determined effort to get at facts of undeniable importance for public-health policy. The UK Ministry of Defence has confirmed in writing that it does indeed possess the information necessary for the compilation and analysis suggested by Bird.2Ministry of DefenceQuestion and answer—casualties in Iraq.http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/7AFCB513-0395-4227-8453-C7AF2189AB00/0/pjhq3.pdfGoogle Scholar I received this confirmation in response to a Freedom of Information Act enquiry I submitted in January, 2005, because of my interest in tracking the effect of the war on the civilian population of Iraq. The response from the Ministry of Defence read: “…details of all injuries or illnesses are recorded on an individual's medical records. There is, however, no centrally held breakdown of those medically evacuated into combat and non-combat injuries, nor of injuries which did not require medical evacuation, but which were treated in theatre.” The reason given at the time for not compiling or making available the data for analysis was that the cost would exceed the £600 fee specified under section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act. Clearly, extracting and summarising such data would require a lot of work, but in light of the arguments outlined by Bird, the cost-effectiveness of the Ministry of Defence's decision surely has to be questioned. The same communication indicated that, since February, 2003, there had been 2762 medical evacuations from Iraq and that 790 of these had involved UK military personnel. The reasons for medical evacuation included “injuries sustained as a result of hostile actions, accidents and other incidents”. Further information published online by the Ministry of Defence reveals that about 1200 additional medical evacuations had occurred during 2005.3Ministry of DefenceOperations in Iraq: British casualties.http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/OperationsInIraqBritishCasualties.htmGoogle Scholar Until there is a change in policy and practice within the Ministry of Defence, we can only deal in informed guesswork in the assessment of the public-health effect of the war on people serving in the British military. As argued by Bird, we owe them more than this. I declare that I have no conflict of interest.