News Release, 21 May 2003
Dr Andrew McCulloch, Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation said:
"This is a sad day for the many thousands of current and former members of the armed forces who develop mental health problems as a direct result of conflict.
The Ministry of Defence still has a moral case to answer. No country should ask young men and women to fight for their country and then leave them to fend for themselves when they return.
While this debate goes on, many more people will feel the shattering effects of psychological trauma. Five times the number of soldiers who lost their lives in the last Gulf War have since committed suicide. One in four homeless people is a former member of the armed forces. The care, support and treatment they need are simply not available. The Government's suicide prevention and social exclusion strategies would be more effective with joined up thinking between the Department of Health and the Ministry of Defence.
It is a shame that the MoD is waiting to be forced by the courts to protect its own workforce."
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