4fitter,
Please do not think for one moment that I was having a pop at those involved with Selly Oak, but as someone that was out in Afghan in 06 the confidence in the medevac system was low. As you know between 06 and about 09 the summer offensives saw a significant number of casualties deposited back in UK by a rapidly developing MERT and Aeromed only to have issues with numbers of beds and correctly trained/experienced staff to treat them.
This resulted in military patients either ending up on inappropriate wards or in really remote hospitals all around the UK with absolutely no facilities for family, whom had to initially pay accommodation costs in places where the NHS had spare beds.
What we have in RCDM is superb with a miltary ward in a very shiney new hospital that has learnt all of the harsh lessons during a very kinetic conflict.
My point is that hypothetically on paper now that Afghan is a distant memory for many to close RCDM and all of that corporate knowledge accrued between Military and NHS staff alike.
It took us nearly 10 years to get it right with Iraq and Afghan, and my fear is that we will take the same amount of time, heart ache and cost to re-learn those lessons for the campaigns around the corner.
As with everything in the military, Selly Oak's issues came from the misguided belief that 'just enough, just in time' would work for military patients. And we cannot blame the NHS either as allegedly we the military promise to staff NHS wards with military medical specialists only to see them rapidly re-deployed in time of conflict or manning pinch points occur. This resulted in much mistrust between the NHS and the military that I believe RCDM and QE Birmingham have resolved and proven to work over the years.