SOLDIERS FACING A POSTCODE LOTTERY FOR 'SUPER' LIMBS ( the coming DemoSocialist Soviet Healthcare)

The Express (UK) ^ | Sunday January 10,2010 | Marco Giannangeli

[DGHoodini]

HUNDREDS of soldiers who have had arms and legs blown off by the Taliban may find that cash-strapped hospitals cannot afford to fix or replace sophisticated artificial limbs, campaigners warned last night.

Since 2006, members of the Armed Forces injured in bomb blasts while serving in Afghanistan and Iraq have been provided with top-range prosthetics by the Ministry of Defence.

When they leave the Army, however, their care is passed on to the NHS in what critics described as a postcode lottery for funds. One campaigner said: "The way things are going, ­soldiers risk walking into a hospital with a bionic leg and leaving with a wooden peg."

High tech artificial legs containing micro motors and computer-driven knee joints, which improve the walker's gait and limit the risk of tripping, are readily available. Some of the ­newest ­prosthetics fuse with the patient's ­muscles and tendons.

However, they are expensive, costing, on average, £15,000 to £20,000. Some can cost as much as £60,000.

Latest figures show that 107 soldiers serving in Afghanistan and 19 in Iraq had limbs amputated between April 2006 and September last year. The number is rising because of the Taliban's use of roadside bombs .

Injured soldiers are treated at the pioneering Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre, Headley Court military hospital complex, Surrey. When amputees leave Headley Court, the Government is obliged to ensure they receive adequate treatment at NHS ­hospitals. But some charities say the pledge is worthless if the money is not made available.

Jerome Church, chairman of Blesma, the British Limbless Ex Service Men's ­Association, said: "There is a real problem for War Pension amputees who have to accept what local decision-makers decide. It's a postcode ­lottery

[Pikachu_Dad]

they don’t need a hospital... they need an automotive mechanic...