Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK service personnel have left without medical discharge despite major injuries in each of the last 10 years.

The table below shows the recorded numbers of UK Armed Forces personnel who suffered a major injury in each Financial Year (FY) from 2011-12 to 2020-21 and who subsequently left their service without medical discharge.

Table Notes:

1. Defence Statistics Health have interpreted ‘major’ injuries as those having a NOTICAS (notification of casualty) listing of Very Seriously Injured (VSI) or Seriously Injured (SI), a limb amputation or a Health and Safety incident with a ‘major’ or ‘specified’ severity.

2. It is possible to recover from a ‘major’ injury and be retained in service in the same or an alternative role. A subsequent exit may be unrelated to an earlier injury.

3. Ministry of Defence Health and Safety datasets for ‘major’ or ‘specified’ injury severity spans a wide range of injuries including fractures (other than to fingers, thumbs and toes), and any loss of consciousness caused by head injury or asphyxia.

4. Due to the potential delay between personnel sustaining a major injury and exiting service, there may be personnel who were injured in recent years who have not yet left service.

5. Amputations data for Financial Year 2020-21 is not yet available and is therefore excluded.