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Continuity of care for discharged members of the armed forces - prostheses

Under the Responsible Commissioner provisions, PCTs are expected to provide continuity of care for personnel who are discharged from the Armed Forces and become resident in their area.  The Ministry of Defence generally liaises with individual PCTs and providers about the continuity of care for members of the armed forces who are discharged with significant on-going health needs, and these arrangements work well.  

The Ministry of Defence is currently working with a number of provider units to prepare them to maintain and replace the prostheses of a small number of amputees who will be discharged from the Armed Forces over the coming years. If the clinical need remains, good clinical practice would make it appropriate for these ex-Service personnel to have their current prostheses maintained in the NHS - whether or not they are of a type that the NHS would have provided - and for appropriate replacements to be provided that continue to meet their individual needs.

Assessment of clinical needs should cover the psychological as well as the physical/functional aspects.