Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-03-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) serving personnel and (b) veterans have had mental health issues in each year since 2010.

Mr Julian Brazier

The following table shows the number of UK Armed Forces serving personnel who were assessed as having a mental health condition, either at one of the military Departments of Community Mental Health (DCMHs) or one of the facilities contracted by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to provide in-patient treatment, from 1 January 2010 to 30 September 2015 (the latest date for which verified data is available).

The MOD does not hold information on the number of veterans who were diagnosed with a mental disorder after leaving Service. However UK Armed Forces personnel identified with a mental health problem prior to leaving Service are entitled to access care in a UK DCMH for up to six months beyond their discharge date to continue their care. These personnel would be diagnosed prior to leaving Service and thus would be included in the statistics provided.

Veterans in England, Scotland and Wales are entitled to priority treatment at NHS hospitals for Service-related conditions (subject to the clinical need of all patients) and a Veterans’ Transition Protocol ensures any Service person discharged with a diagnosed mental health disorder is transferred appropriately to the NHS in England and the Devolved Administrations. A number of enhancements have been made to the care available for them, including more NHS veterans mental health nurses, follow-up of Service leavers 12 months after discharge, and a 24 hour mental health helpline.