Legal News

New figures show that 28,000 members of the Armed Forces have been diagnosed with a mental health condition since 2007.

Charities and MPs are demanding that the Ministry of Defence tackles the issue of mental health among the Armed Forces, many of whom would have served in campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Labour Shadow Armed Forces Minister, Kevan Jones, told the Sunday People:

“This highlights the need to concentrate on military mental health and also ensure the NHS deals with service veterans.

“The rise is partly because of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. But it’s also because personnel are more aware of the help available and ask for diagnosis – which is a good sign.

“It’s vital to ensure there’s a joined-up connection between the military’s mental health and the NHS, so when troops leave service they get vitally needed help.”

Figures on mental health in the Armed Forces were revealed last week in response to a Parliamentary question.

Data revealed that, in 2014, approximately 5,159 members of the Armed Forces were diagnosed with mental health problems – an increase on the figure for 2007 of 3,560.

The MoD has launched several campaigns to raise mental health awareness among serving personnel and veterans – including “Don’t Bottle It Up”. The MoD also runs 16 mental health units for Armed Forces personnel and has donated £2.2million to charities such as Combat Stress, as well as funding NHS mental health initiatives.

The founder of Veterans in Action, Billy MacLeod, said that the figures were “the tip of the iceberg”, however:

“Those who are attending the centres are serving soldiers – but many sufferers don’t come forward and find they have issues after leaving the forces.

“The Tories and the MoD have put a reported £7.5million into helping mental health problems. That’s just a drop in the ocean – it won’t achieve a thing. There seems to be some denial.”

The Ministry of Defence responded, saying:

“We have long recognised service life can cause stress and we are committed to giving staff and veterans all the mental health support they need.”

Mental health charity Mind says that it is vital people with mental health conditions receive the help they need sooner rather than later, including talking therapies for anxiety and depression.

Many veterans and serving Armed Forces personnel may develop PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), which can involve anxiety and depression as well as veterans maintaining an acute awareness of their surroundings in civilian life after serving in live combat. PTSD can also involve panic attacks, flashbacks and sleep disturbance, including nightmares and insomnia. Many veterans may become homeless or develop issues around alcohol misuse or drugs misuse unless they receive support for mental health conditions, including psychiatric assessment and talking therapies.

Paul Farmer – chief executive of Mind – warns that mental health patients need to access therapies quickly – and adds that research shows that NHS patients on average wait for more than a year between being referred for talking therapies and being assessed.

“Waiting this long can be incredibly damaging – and our findings also showed that while waiting for talking treatments, four in ten people harmed themselves, one in six attempted to take their own lives and at least six per cent of people ended up being admitted to hospital.”

Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors

Duncan Lewis is the UK’s largest provider of Legal Aid mental health services and we provide legal advice on mental health issues free of charge to mental health patients.

In some cases, Duncan Lewis mental health solicitors may be able to advise the Nearest Relative or carer of a mental health patient on access to services, treatment options and initiating treatment reviews.

There are Duncan Lewis offices across the UK – and our mental health solicitors are available at short notice for appointments at police stations and hospitals to advise on mental health law.

For expert legal advice on your rights as a mental health patient –
including detention under the Mental Health Act – call the Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors Helpline on 0203 114 1124.