Armed forces
personnel with the most serious injuries will have a customised
health care plan before they leave the Services that will continue
to be tailored to meet their individual needs for the rest of
their life, Health Minister Mike O'Brien and Veterans
Minister Kevan Jones announced today.
The new arrangements are part of a package of improvements set
out as part of the Government's commitment to provide
Armed Forces veterans and those preparing to make the transition
from service to civilian life with the very highest standards of
health care. They include:
· A guarantee that all those seriously injured will receive an
early and comprehensive assessment of their long term needs before
they leave the Armed Forces;
· High quality care for life for those with continuing healthcare
needs based on a regular review of their needs overseen by an NHS
case manager;
· Grant funding of £140,000 with Combat Stress (that they are
matching) to work directly with mental health trusts to ensure
that the services they provide are accessible to and appropriate
for military veterans;
· Closer NHS links with a full range of third sector partners and
charities with extensive experience of working with veterans, to
share advice, knowledge and best practice to improve services for
veterans;
· An entitlement for all veterans who have lost a limb whilst
serving in the Armed Forces to receive, where clinically
appropriate, the same standard of prosthetic limb from the NHS
that they received or would receive today from Defence Medical
Services as a result of major technological advances.
· Responsible Directors within each Strategic Health Authority,
together with Primary Care Trust champions, will be identified to
ensure the needs of the armed forces, their families and Veterans
are fully reflected in local plans and service provision; and
· Improved transfer of medical records to the NHS on retirement
from the armed forces, including greater GP awareness of veteran
status of new patients to ensure veterans receive their
entitlement to priority treatment for any injuries or illness
attributable to their time serving in the Armed Forces.
In addition, it is expected that the six ongoing mental health
pilots within the NHS will continue, with the evaluation and
learning from these pilots used to help other Trusts gear their
services to better meet the needs of veterans.
Speaking on a visit to service charity Combat Stress in Surrey,
Health Minister Mike O'Brien said:
"Those who have sacrificed so much for their country
deserve the very best health care. That is why we are working with
the MOD, the NHS and service charities to make these improvements.
The package of measures set out today builds on what the NHS
already provides to ensure that veterans’ health needs are better
met.
"The NHS delivers high quality mental health services
and is the best place to treat Veterans, but we want to make sure
that the NHS understands their very specific needs.
That's why we and Combat Stress are providing
professional support for ex-service men and women to help them get
the help they need from the NHS and put them in touch with local
support groups."
Veterans Minister Kevan Jones said:
“Today, the Government is making a lifelong guarantee to the
brave men and women who have served their country. My part of that
promise is to ensure that those members of the Armed Forces who
have suffered serious injury will havean individually
tailored health care plan before they leave the services.
“I have strived to alert all Government departments to the needs
of our veterans and I am proud to have played a role in this new
and ground-breaking series of announcements. Together, the MoD,
Department of Health and Armed Forces charities will build on our
existing good work to bring about real change to the lives of our
former service men and women.”
David Hill, Chief Executive of Combat Stress said:
“Efficient planning of Veteran services and joined-up working
between both statutory and voluntary sectors are crucial – if
service providers are to rise to the challenge of properly meeting
the mental health needs of Veterans in their communities. Combat
Stress has seen a 66% rise in referrals in the last 4 years and
there is no sign of this increase in demand abating.
“Combat Stress sees this relationship as an important step
forward in reaching a common goal – making sure that those
Veterans who need support have access to the best care possible.
By combining the expertise gained from Combat Stress’s 90 year
history in the field and the recent NHS Veterans Mental Health
Pilots, we can deliver help to those who need it as quickly as possible.”
The Department of Health is also working with the military to
develop clearer and easier routes into accredited NHS jobs to
provide employment opportunities for those leaving the Armed
Forces.
Notes to Editors
The package of measures to improve health care for veterans is
set out in detail in a Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament
today, 11 th January 2010.
2. A veteran is anyone who has served for at least one day in HM
Armed Forces.
3. Defence Medical Services responsibility for an individual’s
health care transfers to the NHS as soon as someone leaves the
Armed Forces.
4. These new measures are part of the Government’s ongoing
commitment, launched in July 2008 in the first-ever
cross-government Service Personnel Command Paper, to our Armed
Forces, their families, and our veterans.
5. The measures fit in with the Government's new Shared
Vision for Mental Health launched in December 09, New Horizons. It
will tackle depression for people of all ages and walks of life;
work to further reduce suicides; improve outreach to help excluded
groups access support; and tackle the stigma around mental
illness. New Horizons and all associated documents can be found
at: http://newhorizons.dh.gov.uk/index.aspx
4. Details of the Third Sector Strategic Partner Programme for
2010 will be published in the coming weeks. The programme aims to
ensure that third sector organisations are able to contribute to
improved health and well-being and promotes collaboration between
organisations operating in the health and social care sector.
5. For more information please contact the Department of Health
press office on 020 7210 5221.
Contacts:
Department of Health
Phone: 020 7210 5221
NDS.DH@coi.gsi.gov.uk