Army chief raps Selly Oak Hospital
A BIRMINGHAM hospital that treats soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan has been accused of letting down military patients.
Lieut Col Joe O’Sullivan complained about two cases at Selly Oak Hospital to Tory party leader David Cameron during his visit to meet troops in Afghanistan.
The commanding officer of Sangin base said a paratrooper was being treated at the hospital after being hurt by an rocket-propelled grenade, but when his family came to visit from Canada, they were turned away because it was outside visiting hours.
He also highlighted a second case when another soldier contracted pneumonia in Afghanistan, but when he was discharged from Selly Oak, was made to walk two miles to a cashpoint to obtain money for a taxi home.
Selly Oak Hospital works closely with the Royal Centre of Defence Medicine at the site.
University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Selly Oak, declined to comment.
In Afghanistan, Mr Cameron said British forces had a raw deal over their leave, and called for rest periods to start when personnel arrived home rather than when they left the frontline.
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