Veterans health care conference
Combat Stress and the Legion are hosting a conference, From Conflict to Community, that will raise awareness of the physical and psychological effects of Military Service and promote proven pathways to treatment. The event, on 18th November in Newcastle, forms part of the two organisations strategic partnership with the Department of Health.
The conference will follow the journey of those leaving the Armed Forces with Service-related mental ill health, and other injuries, as they look to access mainstream care in their community. Speakers will include serving personnel, eminent specialist clinicians and welfare professionals. The event is suitable for all those with an interest in veterans' health care, particularly: NHS, voluntary, private and statutory sector professionals. Places can be booked here.
back to top Guidance to help GPs support veterans’ healthcare needs
The Legion, the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and Combat Stress have published a guidance leaflet to help GPs identify and meet the healthcare needs of veterans more effectively.
The information provided includes jointly-produced guidance for GPs looks at how best to care for veterans’ physical and mental health after they have left the Forces and rejoined civilian life. It provides useful advice on medical records and accessing priority treatment, along with dedicated sections including mental health needs, health behaviours, the provision of prostheses and hospital waiting lists. The guidance for GPs parallels information already produced by the Legion for veterans themselves - Meeting the healthcare needs of veterans
- in partnership with the NHS.
RCGP Chairman Professor Steve Field said: “A large number of our patients in general practice are veterans or families of veterans from wars gone by or the recent or current conflicts in Iraq, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan. It is vital that as GPs, we are properly prepared and resourced to provide them with the care and services they so need and deserve”.
back to top Veterans less likely to be in prison than non-veterans
The MoD’s Department of Statistics and Advice (DASA) and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) have released their second research report
on veterans in prisons in England and Wales. In response to criticism that their first report
excluded older veterans they have revised their figure for the proportion of prisoners with a Service history as a Regular from 2.7% (2,207 in total) to 3.5% (2,820). Whilst a little higher than the original figure this is still much lower than the levels claimed recently by other less robust research.
Indeed the research estimates that male Regular veterans aged 18-55 are 30% less likely than the general population of the same age to be in prison. Amongst those veterans in prison the most common categories of offence are violence against the person (30%), sexual offences (25%) and drugs (10%). Veterans were found to be less likely to be in prison than the general population for every offence type except for those of a sexual nature.
back to top In defence of Disabled Facilities Grants
The Home Adaptations Consortium, of which the Legion is a member, provided a submission to the Coalition Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review
(CSR) in defence of public spending, primarily via the DFG scheme, on home adaptations for disabled people. The paper outlines how important adaptation funding is and how provision of these does or could meet the Coalitions nine priorities for the CSR. The CSR will be published towards the end of October.
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