Published on: 12th March 2015
The NHS is set to benefit from a charitable grant of £75,000 to review the mental health needs of military veterans. Forces in Mind Trust has awarded the money to fund a national review of health needs assessments for veterans’ mental health and other health related needs.
Commenting on the recent announcement (Feb 19), Paula Jelly, the regional lead for veterans’ services at Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, said:
It’s encouraging to see a particular focus on mental health. This charitable grant will enable a national review of current services and will ensure the right services are available to meet the needs of our veterans and support their transition from military to civilian life.
Kate Davies, head of Armed Forces commissioning, NHS England, said:
There have been significant improvements in access to mental health services for veterans and further improvements are planned for the general population through the Parity of Esteem programme and the Crisis Concordat; but it is clearly necessary to ensure that NHS England and local commissioners are well informed and have a firm evidence-base for reviewing the range of services offered, which is where this review of health needs assessments will bring the greatest benefit.
Chief executive of Forces in Mind Trust, Ray Lock, said:
For the first time, the military and healthcare communities will have a real insight into veterans’ health needs. Mental health issues in particular are one of the key challenges which ex-service personnel can face when coming out of the Armed Forces and can make transition to civilian life extremely difficult; having an understanding of other health needs which can stem from these issues will expose further areas for research and evidence gathering.
