Part 1 - Applying to the AFCS / Making a claim under the AFCS

It may seem I'm being pedantic by repeatedly calling it "applying" to the AFCS. To me a 'claim' is a legal claim where there is a Claimant and a Defendant. In such cases there are rules for expert qualification and competence, there are enforceable time limits, the process is overseen by a judge or independent mediator so that the outcome is objective and unbiased, and costs can be recovered at the end of the claim.

AFCS ain't that thing.

If you haven't already, have a look at the AFCS section of the GOV.UK website. It gives a broad brush overview of the process and links to the most up to date version of the 'Claim' Form.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/armed-forces-compensation-scheme-afcs#how-to-make-a-claim

The process has been updated since I applied in 2018, and can now be done online (it's the future! Flying cars are next!) Here is the application page:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-armed-forces-compensation-or-a-war-pension

There's a lovely little video showing how the system should work, how easy it should be, and telling you how helpful everyone is. There are little cartoon injured service people waving cheerily at you. They have no facial features so you can't see them crying in exasperation as they wave not at you but goodbye to their sanity as Veterans UK medical advisers gaslight them and cause delays to their claims for 5 years or more.

The video does hint at something useful, however, and that's gathering records.

EPAW

Not Yorkshirefolk asking their dog to shake hands for a treat, it stands for Express Prior Authority in Writing. If you need it, you have to get it before anything else for your claim.

It means if you're James Bond or have redaction black boxes over your eyes whenever anyone takes a photo of you, you need to get permission to start your claim. As far as I know, they're not going to stand in your way. They just need to remind you of your responsibilities over the super duper secret sneaky beaky stuff you may or may not have done on behalf of certain units that don't exist except in films and books and the nightmares of Argentinian conscripts.

black and white short coat medium sized dog on green grass field during daytime

Medical Records

The first things the guidance notes say to include with your application, if you have them, are your medical records. You don't have to get them, as Veterans UK may request them anyway, but it is likely to be faster if you do it, and you're likely to do a much better job of getting and organising all the relevant records. When I got my records as organised by Veterans UK, they clearly used the international filing system known as the 'throw paperwork in the air and gather with a broom' system. Of note, these are the people that left my application on a printer and then forgot about it. Then 8 months later, after telling everyone not to chase applications because of COVID, said my solicitor had not sent updated information from my consultant shrink despite Veterans UK acknowledging receipt of the email.

When you are anxious, polite and respectful of authority, it's very difficult to chase government organisations that we trust to be competent at the very least. But the badmin at Veterans UK is strong, and you and / or your solicitor must keep on top of the information. No-one knows your case better than you. Your solicitor can distill it so the most important and relevant stuff is front and centre for Veterans UK, but you know your case. Check the solicitor's stuff and check Veterans UK's stuff. As soon as work goes in or Veterans UK make a decision, it can be months or sometimes years before they next look at your case, so it's absolutely worth making sure everything is right before it goes in.

Where are your records?

One thing to know is that you'll probably have records in different locations. Each Hospital Trust that's treated you will have some records. Your GP will have some records. Any private treatment places might have some. Private doesn't have to be a hospital where you have your own room with a TV and they bring you coffee in a china cup. It can be a £30 physio session or block of counselling / psychotherapy.

Here is an example of the spread of locations your records can be in.

Write your text here...

You can ask your GP surgery's admin team for a little help identifying where to ask for your records BUT please bear in mind even before COVID-19 they were fully maxxed out. So if you're going to ask them, do it really nicely. If they're ever curt, remember they deal with people at their most scared, and vulnerable, and as humans are often shits, the scared and vulnerable patients often take out their fear on the reception and admin teams at the GPs. They are definitely not blunties.

Lots of GPs have a way to make an admin request through their website. You can briefly explain you're applying for your military invalid pension and need to find out which Trusts have records for you. Please could they give you a list.

There's a good page at The Patients Association about how to request records, and they even have a template letter.

Be aware of the, hopefully unintentional, little misleading directions by Veterans UK. In the guidance notes for the AFCS form it says to send them:

"letters and reports from people who have treated you: GPs; Hospital doctors; Specialist nurses; Psychiatrists or psychologists at a consultant grade; Occupational Therapists; Physiotherapists."

The implication is that they don't need or want any letters or reports from psychiatrists or psychologists that are not consultants.

In relation to medical records, Veterans UK absolutely need the letters, reports and comments of all your shrinks. The only relevance a consultant has to the rules for AFCS is that your mental injury must be diagnosed by a consultant shrink. Veterans UK shouldn't (I was going to say can't, but they do) dismiss the opinions of a treating or assessing psychiatrist or psychologist because they're not a consultant. But you need the letters and reports to be included and considered in your claim.

As if to show how the system really doesn't try and help you, I requested my RAF service records in accordance with the guidance and MoD form 1694 Data Protection Act 2018 Subject Access Request (SAR) Form.

I used the form, included my proof of identity, sent it to the email address on the form (which I copied and checked repeatedly.) Sent at the start of February 2021. Still no response in January 2022. If you want to try, the link to the form is here

Personally I really dislike using Adobe Acrobat reader (Over 15 quid a bloody month for a PDF editor?! F*** Off!) but the form says it won't work in anything else, so best to use the free annoying version of Acrobat to fill it in. There are links in the form to the instructions which seem to be embedded.

Don't be put off by the size of the form. It does look massive, but you don't have to do it in one go. If you don't do it at all, it will just make Veterans UK's job easier as they won't even have to assess your case.

EPAW (sneaky / James Bond)

The first few pages of the form are standard form filling stuff with a few exceptions. If you've served with or are serving with SF then you really do need to follow the process of getting Express Prior Authority in Writing (EPAW) on the front page of the form (3rd page of the PDF).

Parts 1 and 2 should be ok to fill in, although you might have to dig out some paperwork or make a phone call to find out which pension scheme you were on if you can't remember.

The guidance notes hidden in the form are limited and can also be misleading. Click on the text which the Big AFCS Help green arrow is pointing at and it will open another PDF with the notes.

If this seems a bit far fetched, here was my experience:

Leave RAF 2011, move to Newcastle. See local GP Living just south of The Wall, for example, you could have a GP in Mole's Town. They'll have records of: letters that hospital doctors sent to the GP as you're their patient; appointments you've had with the GP, Dr Snow, who probably prescribed you anti-depressants, referred you for counselling and gave you some cream for your athlete's foot.

Your counselling took place at the GP surgery. The counsellor, however, was part of Ned's Healthcare, an alliance between Winterfell Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and Barrowlands, The Gift and The Neck (BGN) NHS Foundation Trust. You also saw a private psychotherapist in Karhold when your 6-10 NHS sessions ended.

Then you had an assessment by the NHS Veterans' Mental Health Transition, Intervention and Liaison Service, (NHS VTILS). They referred you on to the NHS Veterans Mental Health Complex Treatment Service (NHS Veterans CTS) which was part of White Harbour and Riverrun Partnership NHS Foundation Trust at the time. Then the name was changed to OP COURAGE which incorporated VTILS and CTS, and although your therapist and treatment location stayed the same, your care was now under BGN NHS Foundation Trust instead of White Harbour and Riverrun.

stacks of paper documents and file folders

silhouette of a road signage during golden hour

A Song of Scans and Papers

Living just south of The Wall, for example, you could have a GP in Mole's Town. They'll have records of: letters that hospital doctors sent to the GP as you're their patient; appointments you've had with the GP, Dr Snow, who probably prescribed you anti-depressants, referred you for counselling and gave you some cream for your athlete's foot.

AFCS Help on Instagram