Status of Canadian Gulf War Veterans
During the 1991 Gulf War, Canada deployed sea, land, and air forces to the Persian-Gulf region as part of the Coalition forces against Saddam Hussein. About 4,500 Canadians served in the theatre, and no one reported any serious casualties at the time.
However, since then, there has been a series of complaints by some Gulf-War veterans about their overall health. Gulf-War veterans from several other Coalition nations (most notably the United States and the United Kingdom) have also reported that they were experiencing symptoms and illnesses that they believed were caused by, or aggravated by, their service in the war.
In 1992, the medical services in the various countries began to realize that the Gulf-War veterans seemed to be displaying some common symptoms, and the issue gained a higher profile. The first studies of the alleged Gulf-War Syndrome began at about that time.
In September 1992, the Canadian Forces Medical Service (CFMS) advised Canadian Forces medical personnel to exercise vigilance and to notify Headquarters if any Canadian cases appeared. Specialists at the National Defence Medical Centre (NDMC) in Ottawa soon began treating a small number of symptomatic Gulf-War veterans. Centre staff readily diagnosed some specific problems, but some individuals complained of a variety of ailments which, although easily identified as illnesses, were not clearly connected with the Gulf War. In fact, they occur among other Canadian Forces members who did not serve in the Persian Gulf, and also among members of the general Canadian population.
In the fall of 1994, the Department of National Defence decided to determine the prevalence of any symptoms and concerns in Canadian veterans, and to provide them with more detailed information. As a result, in December 1994, the Department sent an information package to all Canadian Forces medical officers giving them more information on the problem, and advising them of what to do with Canadian patients suffering from symptoms that could be related to their Gulf-War experience.
In early 1995, the Chief of Health Services made direct contact by letter with all serving veterans and almost all retired Gulf-War veterans, asking them to come forward if they had health concerns that they wanted addressed. All were made aware of the wide range of medical services at their disposal, including:
- availability of all the services and staff at Canadian Forces medical establishments across the country;
- registration in a formal Gulf-War register for those veterans experiencing illnesses;
- a toll-free telephone line giving health information; and
- a special Gulf-War veterans’ clinic at the National Defence Medical Centre.
After receiving more than 360 calls on a toll-free line, established for Gulf War veterans, the calls stopped and the line was disconnected in July 1995. Individuals who need information can still contact the Directorate of Medical Services at (613) 945-6704. More than 140 veterans are on the Gulf-War register, and the special NDMC clinic has so far seen 65 veterans. Medical staff have been able to provide diagnoses and treatment to those veterans they have been seen, and have confirmed that the symptoms the Canadian veterans are experiencing are very similar to those being seen in other Coalition countries. Most of the veterans who received treatment were satisfied with the care.
Source and Complete Article: http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/news-nouvelles/view-news-afficher-nouvelles-eng.asp?id=938