I’m Wayne Bass, a former soldier, whose life has been ruined after catching Q Fever in Afghanistan. 

I’ve brought a legal case against the Ministry of Defence because I believe they let me down. I'm supported in this belief by my legal team and medical experts.

Had the Army provided me with antibiotics I would have been protected from this debilitating disease. In legal speak, they breached their duty of care by not doing so.

If you agree that the MoD should be held to account when they fail to provide the right medical support to soldiers please contribute to my legal challenge now. I can't do this alone so please give what you can and share this page with friends, family and on social media.  

Without launching an Appeal, I can’t see a future. I also know there are many, many more army veterans who are in a similar position, who are waiting on the outcome of my case, having also been abandoned by the Ministry of Defence and struggling with a range of serious medical conditions.

I don’t want what has happened to me to happen to others. 

Soldiers accept there are risks and do their best, but to be made seriously ill because the MOD didn’t take the simple step of providing antibiotics is wrong and I want Soldiers and officers to be made aware of the risks of Q fever and the devastating consequences it can have.

Case Background 

In 2011, while serving as a private with 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment, I was deployed to Helmand Province, an area known for its heavy Taliban presence and fire. It’s there that I contracted Q Fever, an infection caused by bacteria most commonly found in cattle, sheep, and goats. 

The Army knew that Q fever was rife in Helmand. All they had to do was give me antibiotics before I was posted out there, but they didn’t and my life has been shattered.

Initially, as is typical with the disease, I experienced flu-like symptoms and an army doctor diagnosed Q Fever.

Intravenous antibiotics failed to cure me and following periods in hospital and at the MoD's Headley Court rehabilitation centre in Surrey, I was diagnosed with Q Fever chronic fatigue syndrome and discharged from the Army in 2014.

On some days I'm OK, I can walk a few hundred metres but often I get breathless and have aches and pains all over my body for which I have to take very powerful painkillers. The nerve pain in my lower back and legs means that my back can lock up and I'm immobile. 

On a less bad day it can take 45 minutes to walk 600m.

The condition also means I am unable to work, but the effects are not only physical. It has brought about a spike in my post-traumatic stress disorder, I have night terrors, I feel very low and isolated, very depressed. I am on anti-depressants.

My Legal Challenge

Last month, the Judge ruled in favour of the Ministry of Defence and dismissed my case. I was devastated. But I am determined to fight on. 

So far, my legal team (specialist military law firm Hilary Meredith Solicitors plus two barristers including a Queen’s Counsel) have handled my case free of charge as I don't have the means to pay for any legal representation.

However, to Appeal the court’s decision, which I am desperate to do, I need to raise funds to cover my legal costs. My Appeal will involve my legal team submitting new arguments and barristers standing up in court to represent me over a number of days.

Initially, I will be raising £10,000 but in order to take this the whole way and hold the MoD accountable I need to raise at least £30,000 in total. 

I can't do this without your help - please contribute and share this page now.

I am desperate to appeal the Court’s decision and am asking for help to fund the costs of the appeal.