New defence minister meets sailors to hear about mental health

New defence minister Sarah Atherton has visited HMS Diamond in Portsmouth to find out more about how the Royal Navy is helping sailors to deal with mental health issues.

The Minister for Defence People, Veterans and Service Families said: "I'm a nurse and a social worker and I have worked in a psychiatric hospital in the past.

"Mental health is really important to me.

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"One in four of us will suffer with some sort of mental health issue, so it's really important that people are resilient, they are aware, and they know.

"And of course, if they accept and have strategies in place to deal with life's eventualities – and no more so than in the close quarters on a ship – it means we can stave off more serious issues like depression and anxiety."

Mental health is not the only issue Ms Atherton wants to keep a close eye on.

Last year, in her previous role as a member of the Defence Select Committee, she chaired a highly critical inquiry into women's experiences in the Armed Forces.

Almost two-thirds of the women spoken to as part of that inquiry said they had experienced bullying, harassment or discrimination.

Ms Atherton said: "I didn't quite realise how my report has rocked the foundations of the MOD - great, that is absolutely fantastic – and I'm really delighted that they've really got on with pace with most of the recommendations.

"I've got an eye on a few of the recommendations that I'll be looking at behind the scenes to make sure they deliver but I am so impressed with the MOD and what they've been doing."

She insisted serving women could be confident that progress is being made, adding: "I'm expecting, as confidence builds in the system, for people to speak out.

"I always want them to speak out, because without them we wouldn't have made the progress we have now – not only for serving personnel but women following behind us.

"Confidence is building in the system and because of that, quite rightly so, I'm expecting to see more complaints coming in."