BBC programme follows injured soldiers inside Selly Oak Hospital
“We are delighted that the public are finally going to see the victims of war from a personal point of view, from both the patient and of course the supporting family’s perspective,” he said.
“So often we recount those who have died but I suspect nobody in the country really has a true perception of the number of people who are injured.
“It would surprise most people I think if I told them that today I have 31 patients on the normal military ward and another six in intensive care.
“I hope people will realise how well the whole support system is coping - from the point of injury through to recovery.”
In the past four months the number of military patients coming through the doors at Selly Oak has more than doubled.
Prof Porter added: “These guys accept they are soldiers and they know the risks of being deployed to Afghanistan. The camaraderie provided on the military ward here is essential together with the first hand experience of seeing other soldiers overcome catastrophic injuries.”
Lance Corporal Neathway, who is learning to use special metal legs from the thigh downwards, now visits other seriously injured patients at Selly Oak Hospital in an attempt to spur them towards recovery. L/Cpl Neathway said: “When they’re lying in that bed, they think their lives have ended. But they haven’t – they’ve literally just begun, it’s just taken a different path. Wounded soldiers should get more recognition and that’s only starting to come about now.”
Wounded is on BBC1 tonight at 9pm and 10.35pm.
