Army doctors cut NHS waiting lists in Ulster

British army medical staff and facilities have been used to perform more than 100 NHS operations in Belfast in an effort to cut Northern Ireland's chronic hospital waiting lists.

The arrangement has been running discreetly for more than a year. It has been made possible by the dramatic drop in military casualties from terrorist attacks. Army injuries in general have also greatly declined.

Army sources say 116 orthopaedic operations have been carried out in military facilities since the arrangement came into effect in August 2001. The procedures take place in the Duke of Connaught Unit – the military wing of Musgrave Park Hospital, which is on the fringe of republican west Belfast. The health authorities said the patients involved are initially seen at the nearby Royal Victoria Hospital. Some patients, generally those who have suffered fractures, are asked if they would object to undergoing an operation at Musgrave Park.

Under a protocol that has been established, patients have a right to refuse. Some do, for a variety of reasons that are thought to include political considerations.

The operations are performed by civilian consultants from the Royal Victoria Hospital, working with military staff.