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Families
and Welfare - Casualties and Compassionate
» Casualties on Deployment
There is an excellent tried and tested system in place for
speedily informing you should your husband, partner, son or
daughter be injured whilst deployed on operations.
For this to work effectively, it is essential that the Welfare
Office know how to contact you at all times, especially if you
are going away. The need for this can not be over-emphasised.
Experience has demonstrated that this is the single most
important factor in all casualty reporting for any operational
deployment. With the speed of television reporting in
operational areas, it is essential you are informed of any
injury or incident, before you hear it on the news!
If your spouse or partner is injured or unwell in Hospital
abroad and it is anticipated that he/she will be there for some
considerable time, arrangements can be made for you to visit
him/her. In the event he/she is evacuated to the United Kingdom,
you will be entitled to free transport and (possibly)
accommodation to visit him/her in hospital. The Welfare Office
will provide you with all the help and guidance you will need in
such circumstances.
» Compassionate Leave
Service regulations provide clear advice along with the rules
for dealing with Compassionate Leave. All direct relatives to
the deployed soldier should have been provided with a card with
the MOD Compassionate Cell contact numbers on it. This card is
for YOUR use, so make sure you keep it handy, besides the
telephone or in a purse or wallet.
When you call the number, you will be asked certain information.
This information, displayed at the bottom of this page, is provided to
enable you to give all the detail they will require, so complete
it now and keep it secure, so it is available when you need it.
The Details of the Compassionate Cell at the Ministry of Defence
are:
The Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC)
Insworth,
Gloucester,
LG3 1HW
01452 519951
This telephone is manned 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If you
are in any doubt about calling them, please contact the Welfare
Office.
Before you make that call, ensure you are aware of the
eligibility and procedure:
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Eligibility
Compassionate leave with free travel can only be authorised if
the Next-of-Kin is residing in the United Kingdom. Although each
case is unique and no two situations are the same, authority is
normally only granted in the following circumstances:
When one of the following dies or becomes Very Seriously Ill (VSI)
or Seriously (SI):
●
Spouse
●
Parent or Step Parent
●
Child
●
Legal Guardian
Note: This
scheme does not cater for any other relatives or friends.
»
Procedure
The facts of a compassionate case are verified in consultation
by the Ministry of Defence, or Doctors and Specialists acting on
their behalf, with Doctors and Hospital Staff. The ‘case’ is
then graded, by the Ministry of Defence, as a Category A, B, C
or ‘out of scope’. The actions taken in each case are as
follows:
●
Category A – Given in very
urgent cases, for example when a relative is Very Seriously Ill
or has a short life expectancy. Travel is by the fastest means
with transport arranged from the arrival airport, usually via
car.
●
Category B – Given in less
urgent cases with travel by normal service air trooping and
onward travel by rail. Welfare Staff will normally collect
soldiers from their arrival airport wherever possible.
●
Out of Scope – If the
operational circumstances permits and the local commander is
able to release the soldier, the individual may return to home
at his/her own expense. The family and parents must take into
consideration that a soldier is on an operational deployment and
whilst every effort will be made to release an individual, the
operational environment may dictate that this is not always
possible. You should also note that whilst one particular
soldier may have returned at his own expense due to a
compassionate situation, it does not follow that another soldier
may return for similar circumstances.
The operational environment and situation (i.e: what the soldier
is doing, when he is doing at and how) will be different and
need to be assessed each time. This is usually the most
difficult point for a family or dependants to come to terms
with, how one soldier can return from operations because of a
problem, but your husband/partner or son can not, especially
when it is for the same or similar reasons. The operational
environment is very unpredictable and always subject to change.
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