Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is he taking to reduce waiting times for access to (a) Walking With The Wounded’s Head Start psychotherapy service and (b) OpCourage in the East of England.

Part of the allocation from the Department to NHS England includes funding for National Health Service bespoke commissioned services for veterans such as Op COURAGE. Whilst there has been no assessment of the funding provided for Op COURAGE services across England, the funding received by Op COURAGE in the East of England is based on historic demand for veterans’ mental health services in that region.

The Head Start Psychotherapy service is not funded by the Department, as it is part of a formal sub-contractual arrangement between Op COURAGE in the East of England and Walking with the Wounded. As such, any referral cap would be agreed between Op COURAGE and Walking with the Wounded.

NHS England meets with the regional providers of Op COURAGE on a regular basis to review the service, including reviewing the time waited for treatment. NHS England discusses the overall performance of Op COURAGE with providers to ensure that the service, including those elements delivered by partners such as Walking with the Wounded, is meeting the needs of veterans.