Occupational Therapy

Civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan, who may be worried that the British government doesn't care about their welfare and regards them as second-order human resources, can take heart. The British government doesn't care about the welfare of British soldiers, either. When the Cold War ended, the interim almost-government which claimed to rule the country between the demise of Thatcher and the rise of Blair decided to take advantage of the peace dividend by closing Britain's military hospitals, rather than by scaling down Trident or anything similarly indiscreet. Apparently the success of the first Great Iraq Turkey Shoot in 1991 had persuaded the almost-government that the worst risk British troops would have to endure from then on would be a few unfortunate friendly-fire episodes courtesy of our greatest ally. As we now know, things have not quite worked out according to plan. The head of the National Gulf Veterans and Families Association blames the NHS, which ought to save the Association's lottery funding from being pumped into the bottomless pit that is Olympics 2012; others claim that the treatment of occupational resources "violates the Military Covenant, under which soldiers are entitled to expect proper care if they are injured in the service of their country". What they are entitled to expect if they are injured in the service of Halliburton is presumably what they are getting at the moment.