asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many high-dependency hospital beds are occupied by service personnel from current deployments; and how the figure has varied in each of the past 18 months. [HL33]

The readily available data cover admissions to NHS hospital beds occupied by service personnel recovering from injuries sustained on military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. High-dependency beds are typically used for cardiological, neurological and burns critical care.

As at 5 November, there were no high-dependency NHS hospital beds occupied by service personnel recovering from injuries sustained in Afghanistan or Iraq. Over the past 18 months, admissions to such beds have never exceeded 10 in a single month. Where patient numbers are low, in order to preserve patient confidentiality we do not confirm numbers below five. On a quarterly basis, the figures over the period were as follows: