Acne and allergies see recruits rejected Britain

British Army applicants with acne and low-level allergies are being rejected, prompting accusations that recruiting agencies are misinterpreting medical guidelines.

Capita, the services company contracted to carry out medicals for British armed forces applicants, must follow rules set by the Ministry of Defence. More than 14,000 applicants were rejected on medical grounds in 2016/17, prompting concerns that healthy people are being deemed medically unfit to serve.

The figures have emerged as the army battles a recruitment crisis. It is 5000 soldiers short of its 82,000 target. Infantry battalions are about 30 per cent short of their requirement and face problems with retention.

The ministry’s medical standards are complex but revolve around the central tenet that personnel ‘‘need to be physically and mentally fit enough to train, serve and fight anywhere in the world’’.

A series of rejected army applicants have said Capita doctors unfairly deemed their minor ailments to be incompatible with the ministry rules.

Doctors who have worked for Capita also criticised its system. One woman who assessed recruits for the company in recent years said she quit because she was having to fail too many people. She cited the case of a 16-year-old recruit rejected because he had been given an inhaler four years before by his GP, although he had never used it and had not been diagnosed with an allergy.

Alongside the demand for Capita to interpret the guidelines less zealously, a campaign has been launched to encourage the ministry to alter the rules.

Eddie, 28, has founded the Right to Fight campaign to change the military medical policy. He was rejected by the army because of a nut allergy, despite claiming that he had eaten 30,000 meals and never suffered a reaction. He claimed that the rules were ‘‘unrealistic and far too strict’’.

A spokesman for Capita said the company was ‘‘contractually obligated’’ to apply the ministry’s medical entry standard. ‘‘The ministry has been clear that it is content with how we apply that policy.’’

A ministry spokesman said: ‘‘Given the unique and challenging roles within our armed forces, it is right that we have high medical standards to ensure that recruits can fulfil the demands of the job.’’