The head of a veterans’ charity has called for more investment in mental health services for former servicemen – claiming planned NHS investment was “a spit in the ocean”.
Commodore Toby Elliott, the outgoing chief executive of the charity Combat Stress, also said the health service often failed to understand the specific needs of ex-military patients.
But Health Minister Mike O’Brien said unprecedented spending on additional therapists would help those affected by their experiences on the frontline and insisted the NHS was the best place to treat them.
Pilot projects in six areas are using former military personnel to identify people with needs and help them get treatment, and a specialist centre at St Thomas’ hospital in London is assessing veterans’ needs.
