In a new policy briefing, the Mental Health Foundation today called for more to be done to look after the mental health of military veterans. Although the Mental Health Foundation welcomes recent initiatives to expand the mental health support available to veterans, it believes that support services remain patchy and that several critical factors still need to be addressed. Younger veterans must be protected from suicide, the overrepresentation of veterans in UK prisons properly investigated and the link between alcohol misuse and poor mental health must be prioritised says The Mental Health of Veterans.
Younger veterans at risk
Resettlement packages for veterans returning to civilian life should be based on need, not just length of service, says the charity. Veterans under the age of 24 are at two to three times the risk of suicide than civilians of the same age. Despite this, the full resettlement package for former forces personnel is only available after four years service. The Mental Health of Veterans calls for the Ministry of Defence to consider how support for younger veterans could be enhanced, so that vulnerable young people leaving the forces are properly protected.
Unwell veterans in prison
In the light of recent research which found that twice as many veterans are in prison than British troops are in Afghanistan, the Mental Health Foundation says that more research into what prevents veterans from returning to civilian life successfully is needed. Given that around half of veterans in prison are suffering from PTSD or depression, it is clear that more needs to be done to help veterans stay well and out of trouble, says the Foundation.
Concern over alcohol misuse
The high prevalence of alcohol misuse among veterans and service personnel, thought to affect 1 in 5, is a particular cause for concern, says The Mental Health of Veterans. Alcohol misuse services are currently very stretched and do not always work effectively with mental health services. The Mental Health of Veterans calls for commissioners and providers of services to provide appropriate treatments for a range of disorders among veterans, including alcohol misuse.
Simon Lawton-Smith, Head of Policy for the Foundation, said:
“While most members of the forces rejoin civilian life successfully, a significant number will struggle. There have been recent initiatives to improve the help offered to these veterans, but these are not widely available and we feel its particularly urgent that the support available to young veterans, those with alcohol misuse problems and those at risk of offending are improved.
“We can’t carry on with a situation where young veterans are twice as likely to take their own life than their contemporaries and prisons are full of veterans suffering from depression and PTSD.”
The briefing outlines the background to mental health problems, the level of mental health problems they experience and the challenges veterans can face in civilian life and details the support currently available. It can be downloaded from http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work/policy/
Further key points from The Mental Health of Veterans:
The government’s recent New Horizons mental health strategy makes a commitment to review the needs of serving personnel and veterans. Veterans’ mental health is also a priority for the Improving Access to Psychological Services (IAPT) programme. However, many areas still lack appropriate, accessible services for veterans
The mental health problems most frequently suffered by veterans are common mental health problems such depression and anxiety, and substance abuse problems, rather than PTSD
Research suggests that common mental health problems affect about 1 in 4 service personnel and veterans, alcohol abuse about 1 in 5 and PTSD 1 in 20
While most veterans do not develop mental health problems as a result of serving, those that leave the forces with a mental health problem often do badly and many do not receive help
Veterans have cited the lack of understanding of their forces background from ‘civilian’ services as a key barrier to both seeking and receiving support. The Mental Health of Veterans say there is a strong case for veterans to be involved in the training of health professionals who come into regular contact with veterans
While the mental health of serving personnel is provided by the Defence Medical Services, veterans are not entitled to this support, and receive treatment through the NHS
More needs to be done to ensure that veterans themselves do not see mental health problems as a sign of weakness. Veterans could be the target of local health promotion initiatives and the case is strong for veterans to be involved.
Notes to editors:
For more information please contact the Mental Health Foundation press office on 020 7803 1130/28 or email sloveland@mhf.org.uk / fgorman@mhf.org.uk .
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