Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) army service personnel, (b) navy service personnel, (c) RAF service personnel and (d) veterans have had an initial assessment at a Ministry of Defence Department of Community Mental Health centre in each month since January 2025.

Between 1 January 2025 and 31 March 2025 (latest data available), 757 UK Armed Forces personnel had an initial assessment at a Ministry of Defence (MOD) Department of Community Mental Health (DCMH).

The following table provides the number of UK Armed Forces personnel with an initial assessment at a MOD DCMH by service and month from 1 January 2025 – 31 March 2025

DCMH staff record the initial mental health assessment during a patient’s first appointment, based on presenting signs and symptoms. Patients may be assessed by the clinician as not having a mental disorder at the initial assessment; these personnel have been included in this response. Personnel have been counted once in each month that an initial assessment was recorded and only once in the total for the three-month period. Therefore, the sum of the months may be greater than the total number of personnel with an initial assessment at DCMH over the period presented.

Royal Navy includes Royal Navy and Royal Marine personnel.

Following the expansion of NHS veterans’ services, DCMH no longer provide psychiatric assessment of veterans; however, personnel who have been assessed and diagnosed with a mental health need are able to access DCMH for up to six months after discharge to provide continuity of care during the transition period until appropriate handover to other services can be completed as required. Op COURAGE provides a complete mental healthcare pathway for service leavers in England, with similar services in other parts of the UK.