Y o u a n d t h e R A F
The Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre Explained
Whilst many have a natural reluctance to read or think about anything related to death or injury, we recommend a perusal of this article to ensure that you and your loved ones get the best support available from the Service and the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), if the unthinkable happens.
Responsible for the administration of all casualty casework in the Armed Forces worldwide, the JCCC has a vital role to play. Rob Rowntree, Head of JCCC, explains the Centre’s role:
I
n simple terms, the JCCC’s work splits into two main areas: compassionate travel for the Service person back from an
overseas location; and administration in support of serious illness or death of a Service person, wherever and however that occurs. Basically, within the spirit of the MoD’s rules, the JCCC will do their best to handle every casualty or compassionate case sympathetically in an effort to meet your needs and those of your family.
Compassionate Travel
The JCCC is responsible for authorising compassionate travel from outside the UK in order to bring a serving relative home in the event of a domestic crisis involving their immediate family, for example serious illness or death. Therefore, where a Serviceperson is based or deployed overseas, for those at home the first point of contact should be the JCCC.
[For those based within the UK, compassionate leave can only be granted by the individual’s Commanding Officer; compassionate travel arrangements are a matter for the individual’s own unit and the JCCC does not get involved.]
How to get in touch and when When a serving member of the family deploys, he or she should leave a JCCC contact card with their family (it’s official name is JPA P001, Sep 07 version). This card gives the contact number for the JCCC and the Serviceperson should have written their Service number, rank and name on the strip provided.
Should there be an urgent need for a serving member of the family to return home on compassionate grounds, it is useful to have the card to hand. The JCCC is manned 24 hours a day including weekends and Bank Holidays so you can call whenever help is needed.
The information JCCC will require If the card is not available, don’t worry, but there are certain pieces of information that the
staff at JCCC will request. They include: the full name of the Service person concerned, their Service number or, if that is not known, their date of birth, their current location, and details of their normal (parent) unit.
For the family member who is ill, the JCCC will need to know:
• The patient’s full name, home address and date of birth.
• Current location (if not at home), including, if possible, the ward name and hospital and doctor’s phone number.
• Brief description of the illness, date of admittance and latest news from the hospital or care home.
Classifying a compassionate case A compassionate case occurs when there is a serious family crisis or someone is seriously ill in hospital or at home. For obvious reasons, before authorising any compassionate travel, the JCCC will wish to verify the facts by speaking with a suitably qualified person such as hospital medical staff or the GP. They will verify the seriousness of the case which will dictate how quickly, or if, the person needs to be brought home. If verification cannot be made, the JCCC will treat this as a welfare issue and any request to bring a Service person home will require a recommendation through local welfare staffs such as SSAFA or unit personnel staffs.
What happens next?
Once a compassionate case is verified, the JCCC will authorise the appropriate travel category for the Service person concerned. There are 3 categories:
Comp A – Patient’s life is in imminent danger. Travel for the Service person is by the fastest means possible, all the way to the bedside.
28 Winter 2009
www.raf-ff.org.uk
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