A veteran is someone who has served in the British Armed Forces (Regular or Reserve) for at least one day. Veterans also include any member of the Merchant Marines who has served in a war zone. This includes crew from convoys in World War 2 and more recently in the Falklands conflict and Gulf Wars.
Being accredited by the Royal College of General Practitioners means that a practice can better identify and treat veterans, refer them, where appropriate, to dedicated NHS services (such as the Veterans’ Mental Health Transition, Intervention and Liaison service (TILS), the Veterans’ Mental Health Complex Treatment Service (CTS) and the Veterans Trauma Network) and capture better data to improve future health provision. It also means that the NHS is better able to meet the health commitments of the Armed Forces Covenant, which says the Armed Forces community, including veterans, should face no disadvantage in accessing health services and should receive priority care for military attributable conditions, subject to clinical need.
About 18,000 service people move back into civilian life every year and whilst most of these individuals have similar levels of health to the general population, around 2,000 leave on medical grounds. The top reasons for medical discharge are for issues relating to back, knees, mental health and hearing.
If you are a veteran please let us know!
Op COURAGE: The Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Service is the collective name for the:
• Veterans Mental Health Transition, Intervention and Liaison Service (TILS).
• Veterans Mental Health Complex Treatment Service (CTS).
• Veterans Mental Health High Intensity Service (HIS).
NHS England and NHS Improvement has launched a survey to find out people’s views and experiences of veterans mental and physical health services. The information gathered will be used to help inform the development and provision of these services in the future. As part of this exercise, we would particularly like to hear people’s views and experiences of Op COURAGE: The Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Service, as well as the Veterans Trauma Network (VTN), which is for Service-related physical health conditions.