Advice on military veterans with concerns over Mefloquine
Individuals who may have taken Mefloquine prescribed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) are now being offered support from the MoD’s Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for Mefloquine, launched on 5 September 2016. This signposts veterans to appropriate advice through existing resources and patient pathways. A summary of the signposting algorithm is attached, which provides advice to individuals seeking information, those with health concerns, those who wish to make a complaint or those pursuing a legal claim.
Veterans will be encouraged to register their status with their NHS GP (Read Code XaX3) should they not previously have done so, to enable a pathway to existing resources in the NHS should they have concerns about their health. If a veteran attends your practice with a history that they have (or may have) used Mefloquine in the past, this letter serves 3 uses:
- Information for you on what advice your patient has already been given.
- Information on how to obtain copies of their military medical records should your records not hold a sufficient summary to assess the patient’s concerns.
- Some guidance on what options may be available to you in addition to your routine management.
The information that your patient has been given is included in the leaflet attached and includes the contact details for obtaining a copy of their military medical records. Since much of the focus has been the on mental health issues surrounding the use of Mefloquine, a link is provided to the Veterans and Reservists Mental Health Programme (VRMHP). If your records confirm that your patient took Mefloquine while in the military (or you have reason to believe this is the case) and they have mental health issues that you would wish to refer for further assessment or treatment, the VRMHP can provide an assessment and , if appropriate, enable further follow-up and treatment through local NHS resources.
You may find that you can provide information, reassurance or treatment within your routine patient pathways and may choose to support the veteran locally. Further information and education on veterans’ health is available on the free to access e-Learning for Health.
Last updated : 22 Sep 2016June 2016 Newsletter now available (22 Jun 2016)
New Medical Directors join Londonwide LMCs (22 Jun 2016)
Four new medical directors have joined Londonwide LMCs, they will be taking up their posts between June and August: Dr Lisa Harrod-Rothwell MA(Cantab) BM BCh (Oxon) MRCGP DRCOG DFFP Cert...General Practitioners Committee elections (21 Jun 2016)
Dr Terry John, Chair of Waltham Forest LMC, has been elected onto the BMA’s General Practitioners Committee (GPC) to represent Barking and Havering, Redbridge and Waltham Forest, Newham, City and...Accessible Information Standard (21 Jun 2016)
The Accessible Information Standard aims to ensure that people who have a disability or sensory impairment receive information that can be accessible and understood. Any organisation that provides NHS...Primary Care Support England services relocation (21 Jun 2016)
Primary Care Support England (PCSE) is changing some of the services it provides. London PCSE offices (Stephenson House and Kirk House) The following services ceased being delivered by PCSE’s...Sustainability and Transformation Plans - June 2016 Update (21 Jun 2016)
The NHS Confederation conference ran from 15 – 17 of June and included a number of talks which touched on STPs, although no formal policy announcements were made. NHS England...The NHS turns 68 on 5 July - help us celebrate its achievements (20 Jun 2016)
We are keen to highlight the good work that general practice has done since the NHS was formed. Next month we will be celebrating the role of general practice since...Speaker's Corner: Breaking the cycle of despair - tackling diabetes and obesity (13 Jun 2016)
Dr Neel Basudev is a London GP and diabetes lead for Lambeth Clinical Commissioning Group. For National Diabetes Week he explains why understanding the person behind the condition is...M word - Issue 29 - Dr Michelle Drage's latest update for GPs and their practice teams (09 Jun 2016)
Dear Colleague, I know you’re constantly being bombarded with surveys that take ‘just a few minutes’, most of which take you away from your day’s core work, but...Londonwide LMCs Annual Conference leads debate on general practice workforce (25 May 2016)
On 20 April Londonwide LMCs took over the Emirates Stadium in Holloway for our annual conference “We Can Work it Out, Powering up London’s Primary Care Workforce”, where we launched...Guidance
We provide expert guidance for practices in our guidance section, as well as an archive of other materials you may find useful.
GP Support
Contact our GP Support team if you need help or advice.
The team provide professional and pastoral support to GPs and practice teams on a broad range of issues.