Oct 4, 2006, 13:26 GMT
Britain's Prince Charles has visited wounded soldiers in an effort to boost morale among British troops.
The prince and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, toured Selly Oak hospital in Birmingham yesterday (03.10.09), spending over 30 minutes chatting to service personnel who were injured in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Birmingham hospital is the main UK casualty reception centre for soldiers injured on operations, as well as the Head Quarters for the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, where most British troops injured abroad are flown.
The prince and the duchess met 11 service personnel including members of the Parachute Regiment, of which Charles is Commander in Chief.
There has been public outrage in Britain at injured soldiers being treated in public National Health Service wards.
Two weeks ago, the row flared up again after a Muslim hospital visitor accosted an injured paratrooper in uniform and reportedly said: "You have been killing my Muslim brothers in Afghanistan."
Clarence House confirmed the prince requested the visit in an attempt to boost morale following the incident.
A spokesman for the prince said: "The event came about at the request of Prince Charles who wanted to meet service personnel and it proved a good morale booster."
(C) BANG Media International
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