NHS expands mental health support for veterans with more than half saying it’s hard to speak up | News

The NHS has rolled out an expanded mental health support service for Armed Forces veterans, as a survey found that more than half find it difficult to speak up about mental health issues.

Op COURAGE: The Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Service is an NHS mental health specialist service designed to help Armed Forces veterans and their families, serving personnel due to leave the military and reservists who are struggling with their mental health and wellbeing.

North London Mental Health Partnership is the lead provider of the service in London. Our team helps with the full scope of mental health difficulties, ranging from mild to severe and complex issues, even if experienced years after leaving military service. We work closely with other NHS services and veteran charities to provide support for both the individual and their family.

Individuals can self-refer to their local service or ask a healthcare professional, charity, family member or friend to do this.

A new survey of over 3,000 veterans and serving personal, carried out by NHS England, found that the majority (around 60%), of those who took part, said they found it difficult to ask for help for mental health issues.

For those who sought help from Op COURAGE, self-referral was the top method (around 44%).

More than half of respondents (52%) said they currently had, or had previously had, a mental health problem and 54% said they had a physical health problem now or had previously had one.

The survey was undertaken between April-May 2022 and received 3,095 responses.

Deirdre Macmanus and Sue Ferrier, Heads of Op COURAGE service in London, said:

“Our service provides easily accessible specialist mental health assessment, treatment and support to military veterans across the whole of London so that veterans and their families do not have to search around or sit on waiting lists for the help that they need.

“We pride ourselves in providing holistic assessments of need and supporting veterans in accessing a package of care that encompasses mental health as well as physical health, substance misuse, social and welfare support, as mental health difficulties rarely arise in isolation.”

They added that last year, the service had over 200 referrals.

Rob Henderson, Operational Service Manager, said:

“We have a dedicated team working hard to support any person who has served in the British Armed Forces, whatever their experience. We work with high numbers of veterans each year, as well as their significant others. We are a service created in collaboration with veterans, and our staff have either undertaken military service themselves, or have significant work experience supporting the Armed Forces community”.

Andrew Paul, a veteran who has benefited from using our service, said:

“The [veteran’s service] details should be in every veteran’s re-settlement pack. Simple.”

To read more about the service we provide in London visit our website which has lots of information about the service, how we support veterans and how to make a referral.

If you have any questions or want to know more, please get in touch with our team on 020 3317 6818 or veteransservice@Candi.nhs.uk