Mentally ill war veterans deserve more support
The Mental Health Foundation have recently called for more to be done to look after the mental health of Britain’s military war veterans. Although the past few years have seen an increase in support, some services still remain questionable and need to be addressed.
Currently resettlement packages for returning veterans is based on length of service, with the full resettlement package only available after six years of service. Veterans under the age of 24 are two to three times more likely to commit suicide than civilians of the same age, highlighting how resettlement packages should be based more on need than length of service.
Recent research has found that there are twice as many veterans in prison than there are British troops in Afghanistan.The Mental health Foundation has said more research into what helps veterans back into civilian life is needed to prevent them from ending up in prison.
Additional research has suggested that common mental health problems affect about 1 in 4 veterans with alcohol abuse affecting around 1 in 5 and PTSD 1 IN 20
The mental health of serving personnel is provided by the Defence Medical Services, veterans however are not entitled to this support and receive treatment through the NHS, this is something that needs to be changed.
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Tags: PTSD, war veterans