Occupational health screening during Gurkha Central Selection: a retrospective cohort study
Andrew Ka Ho Wong1, M Paton2, P Dalbahadur3
1Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Birmingham, UK andrew.wong@nhs.net.
Insights
Medical suitability for British Army Gurkha selection remains consistent, with deferrals and unsuitability rates stable over four years. This ensures the recruitment process stays free, fair, and transparent for all potential recruits.
Area of Science:
- Military Medicine
- Recruitment and Selection Processes
- Public Health
Background:
- The British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas has a rigorous selection process.
- Recruitment emphasizes fairness, transparency, and equity.
- Understanding medical non-progression is crucial for maintaining selection standards.
Purpose of the Study:
- To retrospectively analyze medical reasons for potential recruits' unsuitability or deferral.
- To assess trends in medical non-progression over a four-year period.
- To evaluate the consistency of medical selection criteria.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of post-exercise reports from 2018-2021.
- Data extraction on medical fitness, unsuitability, and deferral.
- Application of International Classification of Disease version 11 (ICD-11) codes for medical reasons.
- Statistical comparison of non-progression rates by year.
Main Results:
- 3154 potential recruits were analyzed between 2018 and 2021.
- No significant difference in medical fitness versus suitability/deferral rates (p=0.351).
- Significant difference observed in the ratio of deferred to medically unsuitable recruits (p<0.05).
Conclusions:
- Gurkha selection remains highly competitive.
- Medical deferral and unsuitability reasons have been consistent, unaffected by the pandemic.
- The findings support the ongoing integrity of the Gurkha selection process as free, fair, and transparent.
Objective:
The selection process to the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas is rigorous, demanding and competitive. The ethos of recruitment to the Gurkhas is grounded in an overarching tenant: that selection is free, fair and transparent. The aim of this study was to retrospectively review reasons for potential recruits (PRs) to be deemed medically unsuitable or deferred suitability on medical grounds for selection to the Brigade of Gurkhas.
Methods:
A retrospective review was conducted by extracted data from published post-exercise reports for the past four years to ascertain numbers of PRs deemed medically fit, medically unsuitable or deferred suitability on medical grounds. The International Classification of Disease version 11 (ICD-11) codes were retrospectively assigned to code medical reasons for non-progression. Rates of medical non-progression were compared by year.
Results:
A total of 3154 PRs were analysed between 2018 and 2021. There was no significant difference between PRs deemed medically fit and those deemed medically suitable or deferred on medical grounds over the study period (p=0.351). There was a significant difference in the ratio of PRs deferred on medical grounds and those deemed medically unsuitable over the study period (p<0.05).
Conclusion:
Selection to the Gurkhas is extremely competitive. These data demonstrate that, overall, reasons for medical deferral or unsuitability have remained constant despite the impact of a global pandemic. These data reinforce the central tenant of Gurkha selection; that it continues to be free, fair, and transparent.
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