Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to address mental health problems in each branch of the Armed Forces.

The treatment of primary mental health in the serving Armed Forces is commissioned by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which provides a wide range of medical care and treatment for its military personnel. All three main branches of the Services will access mental health care through the Defence Medical Services, Department of Community Mental Health services.

Mental health services for reservists (when not mobilised), veterans and service families are the responsibilities of NHS services in England and the three devolved administrations. In 2017 NHS England launched the Veterans Mental Health Transition, Intervention and Liaison Service which can be accessed through all four regions across England: North, Midlands and East, London and South East and South West. The service increases access to NHS mental health services and treatment options, doubling the size of the previous regional bespoke mental healthcare for veterans and families in England, and works in addition to the local mental services commissioned by clinical commissioning groups. It provides support for the general and complex mental health needs of veterans, and for the first time offers vulnerable serving personnel preparing to leave the Armed Forces access to the same National Health Service care and treatment for mental health conditions, providing continuity when it is most needed. For Armed Forces patients already undergoing treatment plans for all health issues, these will be continued as part of standard transition planning processes.

The Department and NHS England also supports the MOD in its implementation of its Defence People Mental Health and Wellbeing strategy. This aims to build a coordinated approach to prevent, detect, and treat mental health and wellbeing issues, as well as introduce measures to promote the importance of mental health, and will encompass all Defence People – serving Armed Forces members (Regulars and Reserves), military families, veterans, and MOD civil servants.