Military personnel in the Gulf will not be the only British victims of the Gulf War. Any prolonged ground fighting is likely to bring routine services in NHS hospitals to a grinding halt.
Contingency plans look to the re-opening of hundreds of NHS beds closed for lack of cash, and the speedy discharge of NHS patients to clear beds for 7,500 casualties in what has been seen as a 5-day war.
But with nursing staff in short supply, it is clear that this massive influx of potentially serious injuries could only be paid for by cutting down many other departments and services. The blockage of beds, and the added workload on overstretched ambulance services and the Blood Transfusion Service could mean that even NHS emergencies are not dealt with.
Health workers are being pressurised to "volunteer" for extra or prolonged shifts (12 hours for radiographers); and are gagged by being forced to sign the Official Secrets Act. But some health workers are already fighting back, with groups against the war organising meetings, pickets and protests in places including Manchester, Oxford and The London Hospital.
These initiatives are extremely important: exposure of the impact of the war on the NHS, and the activity of health workers against the war can prove crucial in focusing wider opposition to the Gulf slaughter.