The public perception that most Servicemen and women are damaged
by their service is wrong, according to a Report by the House of
Commons Defence Committee on the extent of mental illness among
Armed Forces personnel. The vast majority of veterans leave with
no mental damage, and suggestions to the contrary may actually
discourage those who need help from seeking it. The Committee
also believes that too much attention may be being placed on
PTSD, whereas conditions such as depression are much more common.
The MoD has reported that some 3% of serving personnel were
diagnosed with mental health problems last year – a significant
increase over the previous decade, but still slightly lower than
the level found within the general population. However, as the
Department can record only those who seek help, its data probably
underestimate the true figure. Academic research suggests that
about 10% of veterans who served over the past 20 years may
eventually develop mental health problems requiring treatment,
with some groups – such as soldiers in combat roles, as well as
Reservists – being at higher risk following deployment to
Afghanistan or Iraq.
Provision of Care
The MPs believe that more
must be done to care for the small minority of serving personnel
and veterans who do suffer mental health problems. According to
the Committee “it is still taking too long for veterans to access
treatment when they need it, and levels of care vary across the
UK”. Some Service leavers are also “still falling through the
gaps”, especially during transition to civilian life.
The Committee intends to examine this further and, having
completed its examination of the scale of the problem, is today
launching its follow-up inquiry into the adequacy of the
provision of mental health care to serving personnel and
veterans.
Priority treatment
One of the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant is that, when
conditions are Service-related, veterans should receive priority
treatment subject to clinical need. Yet the Committee found that
this principle has been inconsistently applied. There is palpable
confusion over how to implement it, and this adds to the
perception that the Health Service is failing veterans. The
Committee urges the Ministry of Defence to clarify the position
as part of its forthcoming Veterans Strategy.
A lack of regional understanding
The Committee also found that the MoD has an inadequate
understanding of the extent of veterans' mental health issues
across the UK. The provision of healthcare may be devolved, but
the MoD is still accountable for how the principles of the Armed
Forces Covenant are implemented. More needs to be done to assess
to what extent numbers of veterans with mental health problems
might vary across the four nations.
Defence Committee chairman, MP, says:
“Contrary to public perception, most Servicemen and women leave
with no mental ill-health and, to help veterans, we need to
dispel the myth that many suffer psychological harm. But the MoD
must ensure that the few who do develop mental health problems
are receiving the level of care promised to them in the Armed
Forces Covenant. At the moment they are not, and we shall examine
the situation in more detail in our follow-up inquiry, launched
today.”
Defence Committee member and Chair of the APPG for the
Armed Forces Covenant, MP, says:
“Effective support during transition, as you leave the military,
is essential to ensure that our service personnel experience a
positive move into civilian life without any unnecessary
stress. If they are already receiving support for mental
health issues while serving, they must receive what they need as
they move into NHS care. Yet, clearly, some leavers are
falling through the gaps and the MoD needs to do much better in
working with health economies across the UK to stop this from
happening.”
