Launch of the Veterans' Mental Health Complex Treatment Service
NHS England to transform mental health care for military veterans across the country.
Hundreds of military veterans are set to benefit from a
nationwide scheme to tackle the most complex mental health needs of ex-armed
forces personnel, launched today (1 April 2018) by NHS England.
The Veterans’ Mental
Health Complex Treatment Service has been designed after veterans and their
families from across England were invited to tell the NHS how services would
work best for them.
Backed by £3.2m of funding a year, the new service aims to
help 450 veterans every year and will include help for substance misuse,
physical health, employment, accommodation, relationships and finances, as well
as occupational and trauma focused therapies.
Crucially the national service will focus on helping veterans
closer to home, rather than requiring them to travel to centres for weeks at a
time. There will be opportunities for families and carers to help plan
treatment for their loved ones and they will even be supported to access care
and treatment for themselves if required.
Dr. Jonathan Leach,
Chair of NHS England’s Armed Forces and their Families Clinical Reference Group
said: “The NHS is committed to providing every veteran who needs mental
health support with the best care, which is why we have already set up a
dedicated new service based directly on feedback from veterans themselves.
“To build on this, we are investing £3.2m in a national
complex treatment service which will treat more patients, over a longer period
and closer to home as veterans have told us they prefer.”
The service will be run by NHS providers, working closely
with armed forces groups and charities, including Walking With The Wounded.
While waiting times for veterans are excellent, with 88.3%
waiting less than six weeks, NHS England is determined to continually improve
care. The new service comes in the wake
of new services that are already having an impact for those who have served
their country on military operations around the world.
Last year NHS England also launched the Veterans’ Mental Health
Transition, Intervention and Liaison Service which meant, for the first time,
armed forces personnel approaching discharge can now consistently benefit from
receiving NHS care and treatment for mental health difficulties before their
discharge date and continue after leaving the armed forces.
Walking With The Wounded’s own mental health programme, Head Start, supports ex-servicemen and women with mild to moderate mental health
difficulties. Click here to find out more.
