Iraq and Afghanistan veterans deprived of long-term support, say MPs

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/oct/30/veterans-deprived-long-term-support

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Britain’s armed forces are deprived of the help they need to combat post-traumatic stress, domestic violence, and “hazardous levels of alcohol consumption”, a cross-party group of MPs warn in a report released on Thursday.

They say veterans are faced with a “shocking” backlog in their claims for war pensions and compensation payments, and express concern about the long-term impact on troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan who have been injured, either physically or psychologically.

They say they are worried, as military operations there fade from the public eye, that long-term support for the injured will diminish, despite assurances from the MoD and the Department of Health. Leading charities have made clear they shared the MPs’ concerns.

The report, by the Commons defence committee, comes a day after leading professors in psychology and orthopaedics say the healthcare system is not providing veterans with the service they have been promised and that the government is failing to abide by the military covenant.

It says that while the MoD provided first class medical treatment and short-term rehabilitation for injured troops, insufficient attention was paid to those who developed severe physical, mental, or neurological problems in later life.

Troops deployed in combat roles exhibited twice the usual rates of post-traumatic stress compared to the general population, while reservists exhibited twice the rates of regulars. Lack of support for reservists is especially worrying because of plans to increase the army’s reliance on reservists, the report says.

The mental health of the armed forces is intrinsically linked to “hazardous levels of alcohol consumption [that] are the norm in the armed forces, regardless of service or gender”, says the report.

The MPs warn: “Urgent action is needed to reduce the harm caused by the abuse of alcohol to armed forces personnel and their families. Too many members of the armed forces appear to believe that alcohol is integral to group cohesion, or believe that alcohol is an appropriate way of coping with a return from a military deployment.”

Rates of alcohol dependence are twice as high among male armed forces personnel compared to men of a similar age in the general population.

Thursday’s report says: “Although armed forces personnel have a lower rate of criminal offending than the general population, the rate for violent incidents is substantially higher, particularly amongst those who have previously been deployed in combat roles and those who misuse alcohol.”

The report continues: “There has been no research as to the incidence of domestic violence among armed forces personnel. The MoD needs to understand better the links between deployment, alcohol misuse and violent behaviour, especially domestic violence.”

Rory Stewart MP, the committee chairman, said: “The armed forces is perhaps the most impressive and effective institution in Britain today, and an inspiration to the rest of the country. But there is clearly a correlation between combat operations and challenges in mental health, and we must do all we can to support people through this.”

He added: “Our men and women have displayed great courage and gallantry throughout the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq; hundreds have lost their lives and thousands have been seriously wounded … We need to have the confidence that the MoD will continue to look after these people and their families should they ever suffer from any ill-effects of their service.”

Chris Simpkins, director general of the Royal British Legion, said: “The £150,000 spent per year by each of the 10 NHS veterans mental health networks in England is not enough to shield veterans from the extreme postcode lottery of variable waiting times for mental health treatment. In some areas veterans are waiting up to 42 weeks for certain psychology services.”

He added: “We also welcome the call for the Ministry of Defence to publish a comprehensive strategy on alcohol misuse. Rates of alcohol dependence are twice as high [6%] amongst serving male personnel compared to males of a similar age in the general population [3%], and five times higher among female military personnel [5% versus 1%].”

Walter Busuttil, medical services director at Combat Stress, the mental health charity, described the report as a “timely reminder that veterans may have difficult and complex memories of their time in combat and some may return with psychological wounds”.

He added: “This will also affect their families and relationships. We echo the committee’s concerns that, post-cessation of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, our focus on long-term support for ex-service personnel must not decline.”

Air Vice-Marshal David Murray, chief executive of SSAFA, formerly the Soldiers’, Sailors’ and Airmen’s Families Association and the UK’s oldest national military charity, said: “There needs to be a clear emphasis on the importance of wider welfare support, as well as medical care, so that families know that there is help and advice out there for them if they need it.”

He continued: “The MoD must ensure it has the necessary resource and understanding to adequately support bereaved families in the longer term, and in the fullest sense – including older children, siblings and extended families”.

In numbers

• In Afghanistan, since 2001, 453 members of the UK armed forces and civilians have been killed, a further 614 seriously injured or wounded.

• In Iraq since 2003, 136 have been killed, a further 222 seriously injured or wounded.

• An unknown number of personnel have suffered mental health problems following deployment, including alcohol misuse.

• The number of patients requiring care from the Defence Community Mental Healthcare scheme increased by a third, to 6,700, between 2007 and 2013 and the number of patients diagnosed with a mental disorder increased by 45%, to more than 5,000, over the same period.

• Male troops deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan directly involved in combat were 53% more likely to commit a violent offence than men in non-combat roles.

• The Help For Heroes charity has estimated that 75,000 service personnel could suffer mentally and physically as a result of operations in Afghanistan.