This is an HTML version of an attachment to the Freedom of Information request 'Serving HM Forces personnel issued with epi-pens.'.


 
  
Headquarters Surgeon General 
DMS Whittington Barracks
 
Coltman House 
 
LICHFIELD 
WS14 9PY 
 
 
 
 
 
Mr John 
 
Your Reference: 86442-ad9b722f 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
 
 
Our Reference:20111013-FOI_John_Epipen-U
 
 
Date: 13 October 2011 
 
 
 
 
Dear Mr John, 
 
Your correspondence dated 18 September 2011 has been considered to be a request for 
information in accordance with the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000. You 
requested the following information: 
 
•  How many service personnel are actually serving in HM Forces that have been 
issued with Epipens and have suffered anaphylactic shocks whilst in service. 
 
In line with NHS-IC protocol, prescribing data is released separately to diagnostic data.  
As a result, the response below does not link prescription to diagnosis by patient and so 
each element should be considered in isolation (see note b). 
 
As at 1 September 20011, there were 189,300 Armed Forces personnel (Regular Forces 
and full time UK Non-Regular Forces, but excluding mobilised Reservists) of which; 188 
Service Personnel have been identified as having a read code of “Anaphylactic Shock” 
on the Ministry of Defence Primary Healthcare Reporting System (Defence Medical 
Information Capability Programme (DMICP)), and 653 Service Personnel have been 
identified as having been prescribed either an “Epipen” or an “Anapen” on DMICP.   
 
Please note the following: 
 
a. The data presented has been taken from the DMICP data warehouse and has 
not been validated against individual patient records, so should be regarded as 
provisional.  
 
 
b.  Prescribing data can not be directly linked to the number of patients or the 
conditions for which the drugs were prescribed. 
 
c.  625 UK Armed Forces personnel do not have a DMICP record and therefore 
have not been included in the search for this data.  To manually search records 
would lead to disproportionate costs. 
 
d.   If diagnostic information relating to Anaphylactic shock is entered as free text 
within the medical record on DMICP (rather than entering its code), it will not be 
included in the figures presented. 
 
If you are not satisfied with this response or you wish to complain about any aspect of 
the handling of your request, then you should contact me in the first instance. If informal 

resolution is not possible and you are still dissatisfied then you may apply for an 
independent internal review by contacting the Head of Corporate Information, 2nd Floor, 
MOD Main Building, Whitehall, SW1A 2HB (e-mail xxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xx). Please note 
that any request for an internal review must be made within 40 working days of the date 
on which the attempt to reach informal resolution has come to an end. 
 
If you remain dissatisfied following an internal review, you may take your complaint to the 
Information Commissioner under the provisions of Section 50 of the Freedom of 
Information Act. Please note that the Information Commissioner will not investigate your 
case until the MOD internal review process has been completed. Further details of the 
role and powers of the Information Commissioner can be found on the Commissioner's 
website, http://www.ico.gov.uk. 
 
Yours sincerely, 
 
 
 
 
HQ Surgeon General Secretariat