Army ban coeliac Rachael from being battlefield nurse

Aug 28 2009 by Barry Gibson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

RACHAEL Northrop dreamed of becoming an Army nurse.

But the Wooldale 15-year-old has been told she’ll never get the chance to serve her country – because of her dietary needs.

Rachael has coeliac disease, a condition which means she vomits if she eats processed food like bread or sausages.

She visited the Army recruitment office in Kirkgate, Huddersfield, to inquire about signing up, but was told that people with coeliac disease could not enlist.

Rachael – who is otherwise fit and healthy – thinks the armed forces should let her in. She said: “I’ve nothing seriously wrong with me. I didn’t expect my coeliac to stop me doing anything. It’s not fair.”

Rachael is about to start her final year at Holmfirth High School and is now looking for other options.

Rachael’s mum Karen is shocked the Army won’t take people with coeliac – even though it accommodates people who have decided not to eat certain foods.

She said: “The recruitment centre said the Army caters for vegetarians and halal food, so I asked why it couldn’t do gluten-free food as well.

“People choose to be vegetarian or to eat halal food but coeliac is not a choice. There are supposed to be equal opportunities.”

She added: “If you develop coeliac while you’re in the armed forces you will be catered for, so the Army is capable of it. Having coeliac just means you eat fruit, vegetables and meat in their natural form – but you can’t eat things like sausages.

“If Rachael eats something she shouldn’t, she throws up, that’s it. She doesn’t collapse or develop a rash. Rachael is a healthy person who does every sport going. I can’t see why she couldn’t cope in Afghanistan – unless the only thing they eat is bread.”

Karen said there were two lists at the Army recruitment office outlining reasons why people can’t sign up – one listing health conditions such as coeliac and epilepsy and the other listing serious criminal offences.