Up to 400,000 armed service veterans may be suffering from mental health problems, the Sunday People can reveal. Charities Mind and the Mental Health Foundation say 16% of the UK population has a mental health issue at any one time.
That is equivalent to nearly 400,000 of our 2.4 million veteran population. Both the NHS and the Ministry of Defence recognise veterans’ mental health is now a serious issue.
Yet the Government has set aside just £10million to treat them. The most common problems are anxiety, depression, substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder and self-harming.
Suicide is also a worry among veteran support groups. Last year 86 serving and former members of the armed forces killed themselves.