News Release, 27 February 2003
An estimated 10,000 of the 43,000 troops deployed to the Gulf could suffer serious psychological trauma if a conflict breaks out, yet the Government has made little investment in mental health services for returning soldiers, according to the Mental Health Foundation.
In a move that aims to expose the Government's lack of preparedness, the Mental Health Foundation today questioned the ability of over-stretched mental health services to deal with returning servicemen and women from another world conflict. The charity has asked the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has put in place to ensure that well-known side effects of war, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder which can cause lasting mental health problems, are spotted and early intervention takes place.
In every conflict to date the Government has failed to provide care for returning soldiers, according to the Mental Health Foundation. More Falklands veterans have committed suicide than were killed during the conflict. One in four homeless people are ex armed services personnel and many of the Gulf War veterans now suffer poor mental health. The Mental Health Foundation believes that many veterans are experiencing problems which are as yet undiagnosed. Veterans from the last Gulf War are still waiting for specialist treatment.
Dr Andrew McCulloch says, "The Government and the Ministry of Defence are failing to meet the needs of returning service men and women by relying on already overstretched NHS mental health services to pick up the pieces. They do little to ensure that service men and women are protected from trauma. During the Great War soldiers were executed for cowardice when they could have been suffering from PTSD. Today there is still a moral case for the Government to answer when it sends the military to fight its battles and then leaves soldiers to fend for themselves when they return."
"People suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder triggered by military conflict have needs that require specific services not available on the NHS. Evidence shows that veterans with a delayed diagnosis become more severely ill than those recognised soon after the initial experience. The Ministry of Defence refuses to take responsibility for the thousands of men and women who suffer from this real and debilitating illness. It needs to learn lessons from the US, where they provide early intervention readjustment counselling services and fund a National Centre for PTSD. Nothing like this exists for British troops. We have a first class army with third class mental health services."
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