Tri-Service

"66,000 British Veterans Will Need Help For Injuries"

A new study has predicted that over 66,000 veterans will need help to deal with mental and physical problems, as a result of time served in the British Armed Forces.

The report, from King’s College London and Help for Heroes, predicts that one in 11 of the 757,805 people to have served as regulars between 1991 and 2014 either already need support, or will in the future.

It takes into account the two Gulf wars, as well as conflicts in Bosnia, Sierra Leone and the 13 years Britain spent in Afghanistan.

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The 20,000 part-time reservists to have served in that time are not included, although 57,000 family members of veterans are estimated to have had mental health problems related to their relative’s service.

Former Army officer and Conservative MP Johnny Mercer has called for a new Ministry for Veteran’s Affairs to look after former service personnel, in response to the report.

Here's my response in full. Very important we get this right before it is too late.. https://t.co/WmL9iTjO2n
— Johnny Mercer MP (@JohnnyMercerMP) January 12, 2016

The former soldier has written a report on veterans care for the Royal British Legion. Kate Gerbeau asked him about his main concerns...

In a blog on his website, he wrote:

“There is no evidence of any government department attempting to gauge the true scale of the needs of the veteran, serving and military family community, as a whole."

“No individual should be able to end their life citing military service as a cause, nor should they fail to successfully move on from their military career because of health difficulties related to their service.”