Mental Health Support By Forces

[trap one]

It seems that the latest headlines to surface are the following about the support given to those suffering from Mental Health problems. Seems to be the usual of once out of Forces nil support given or at best long distance paltry help.


BBC NEWS | UK | Ex-soldier's battle for mental health (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7916786.stm)
BBC NEWS | UK | Veteran mental care 'a disgrace' (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7916221.stm)

[Dengue_Dude]

What support?

I hope the NHS are the exception, but how many people/institutions in UK are at all interested in what the Forces are doing/going through?

When you go anywhere, you have to explain again and again and again ad nauseum before finding the 'right' person. Then they can't help, budget cuts, queues, low priority, remember ex-Forces are generally lumped in with ex-cons (I thought that was a joke when I was first told, but it isn't) etc.

That is why I respect immensely what Ross Kemp has done, perhaps, just perhaps someone might try to understand, but I'm not holding my breath.

[Runaway Gun]

It seems that simply encouraging their patients to leave the Forces, seems the easiest method for them. Then we are written off. :*

[ZH875]

Well done to L/Cpl Beharry VC, for highlighting this, it will take a moron to b0llock a VC holder for telling the truth.

Let's hope a VC gives you freedom of speech in the forces, and people (Government) take heed.

[air pig]

Well done, L/Cpl Beharry VC for saying what is well known in the forces community and bringing it to the wider world. I note General Dannet has backed him, so hopefully that will give him some serious top cover from the weasel words of spin and outright untruths of the political classes. I suspect that Kevan Jones the Veterans minister had an uncomfortable time and hopefully an interview without coffee for allowing this to surface into the media. How about politicians live at the front for a couple of months and see reality as few have ever faced the personal realities of committing men and women to war.

L/Cpl Beharry VC knows what he is talking about, been there, done it, bravely has got the medal and daily suffers the effects of combat even when at home. Hopefully he will be allowed to keep raising the issue and the next CGS or CDS does not try to reign him in for political reasons.

Whilst I appreciate that this is a Military aircrew forum, I can only praise a general who speaks up on behalf of his troops, unlike others that pruners could name from our parent or in my case ex-parent service!

I am impressed that President Obamma has stated that more resources will go into PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury in the US, but we also need it here, as on a percentage basis we have just as much injury in the UK.

Look at Arrse for the thread about this.

It is time that the population realised what the forces are doing and the effects on our men and women every day, you only have to watch Doctors and Nurses at war or Ross Kemp in Afghanistan recently to gain a very small insight into the risks faced daily.

[racedo]

Well said Air Pig

I think a fundamental program on support for mental health both within current and ex forces is long overdue.

Its not a shock when surveys of homeless show a high % of ex forces are included be it homeless / alcoholism or other.

It involves real investment in people and programs over a long period of time but without it you run the risk of people really going off the deep end if no support or understanding or programs available are forthcoming.

[air pig]

Racedo.

Many thanks, apart from the homelessness and alcoholism, there is also levels of drug abuse both prescribed and non prescribed(illegal) as well. Look to the prison system, a percentage of inmates are ex service, who to extent have moved from one institution (forces) to another, prison when they have left the services. I know of a person who had great difficulty returning to life as a civilian following his service in the RAF. Fortunately he has now sorted himself out.

Unless and until the Forces to an extent and the Government as a whole, take presently serving and ex forces mental welfare as a priority, we will continue to have people returning to civil life who are just as broken and disabled as those with visible injuries from war. The civilian population can see and relate to a disabled serviceman/woman's physical injury but do not or are unaware of psychological trauma and injury. It is invisible, until it is manifested by self harm, spousal, alcohol or drug abuse possibly leading into criminality, by the it is TOO late.

Unless we wake up to this evolving crisis, many more will suffer, maybe and I have been an opponent of military hospitals from the practical point of view but a military psychiatric facility, maybe back at Catterick, therefore moving funding to the private sector back to a ring-fenced military budget and facility would be the best idea for the care and treatment of these valiant people. Civilians cannot treat combat related psychiatric and psychological injury, why, because they have not been there !!

[pr00ne]

When I left the RAF I could not even get off the station until the RAF had satisfied itself as to the fundamental soundness of my health, including my teeth.
Now if you cannot leave until your teeth are sorted, how on earth are we allowing folk to leave in such a mental state?

airpig,

"Civilians cannot treat combat related psychiatric and psychological injury, why, because they have not been there !! "

Utter, utter nonsense!

Who do you think the real experts are? Who do you think discovered PTSD?

[Chugalug2]

I fully endorse the comments made re L/Cpl Beharry VC. Having displayed enormous selfless physical courage in the face of the enemy he now displays enormous selfless moral courage in the face of.....A remarkable young man who carries the onerous burden of being a serving VC holder with elan. As has been said he is an example to us all, especially perhaps to those at the top of the Armed Forces food chain. An exception though is the CGS who once again stands up for his people, easy for the gainsayers to mock him but harder, much harder, to emulate him. The scandal of lack of kit including aircraft that is fit for purpose persists. Now it seems that the care of our injured is unfit for purpose especially those with Mental Health problems. It all needs more dosh, darling. Sir Fred's pension for starters?
L/Cpl Berry VC and others complain that the NHS never has their Medical files and they have to keep repeating ad nauseum their case, WTF?

[air pig]

Proone,

I take issue with the term nonsense about civilians treating combat stress and combat related pschiatric trauma. Most if not the majority of work and research has been undertaken by military medical staff, from Korea through Vietnam and our experience in the Falklands, by and through the unit at Wroughton who debriefed the Beiruit hostages. Civilian psychiatric units rarely see combat stress related problems, they are far too hard pressed with day to day problems, that is why I feel Catterick should be reopened staffed by military psychiatric teams.

Combat stress and fatigue was documented in WW1 and Sigfried Sasson was in the military psychiatric unit at Craiglockhart in Scotland for a long period, fortunately we do not shoot victims of this syndrome and are far more enlightened in the diagnosis of psychiatric injury and its treatment. PTSD is yet an other name for shell shock battle shock etc as this also happens in physical injury as Da Nung Lung was coined for what we now call adult respiaroty distress syndrome or shock lung.

We must push for greater resources despite our difference of opinion, Proone, to enable the UK to have a service that we can be proud of and hold as a standard that others follow.

Air Pig.

[Green Flash]

Someone of my close aquaintance had a touch of PTSD ex Iraq and was treated by the NHS (for various reasons) - and treated very well.:ok: The Doc:ok::ok::ok: who saw him was a trained councilor who regularly helps the Police/Fire/Ambulance boys and girls who, we would all agree, regularly suffer various amounts of great unpleasantness. I contend that there are plenty of non-military who have a great understanding of PTSD.

[racedo]

STOPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

Rather than this getting into a pissing contest of who would be best in offering support to a PTSD or other mental illness suffer isn't it more appropriate that support is there.

The idea that because someone wears a uniform they would understand something better than someone who doesn't is irrelevant.

Its about providing the right support and whether than on a community basis, within a hospital or other then clearly it needs to be done.

People will respond in differeing way and potentially having someone treated within the military by military doctors may be counter productive as the person concerned may have developed a block against any uniforms and see it as additional stress that prevents them going forward.

[Pops556]

Thank you racedo
Everybody else....take a deep breath.....

Now go online and read the Healthcare Commission's report, published today.....(go past the bit that the press are crooning over about the state of the buildings at Akrotiri) and dig deeper into the report and you will see that the military Departments of Community Mental Health that were visited got an overall bloody well done.

[Pops556]

Runaway,
Can you qualify this statement? Where is the evidence for this? I do not recall anybody being 'encouraged' or otherwise to leave and then be 'forgotten' about. The Medical Boarding process is not as cavalier as that. Furthermore, appropriate care pathways into civilian mental health services and the need to join up with other statutory agencies are a prerequisite, as detailed in the relevant SGPL.

[Runaway Gun]

Pops, PM sent.

Oops - I tried to send a PM to you Pops, but you don't allow it.

To answer your question, Let's just say it's from personal experience. :sad: