Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Mental Health Support for Veterans and Military Charities

Tuesday 19 April 2022 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • NHS England has several bespoke services for veterans, including Op Courage, which provides a complete mental health care pathway and works with military charities to address wider health needs.
  • Last year, an additional 2.7 million was committed to expand Op Courage following the events in Afghanistan.
  • A call for evidence was launched to inform a new 10-year cross-departmental mental health vision.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Anum Qaisar
Mental Health Veterans
Context

NHS England has several bespoke services for veterans including Op Courage, a mental health and wellbeing service. The question addresses concerns over the adequacy of these services.

Question

What recent discussions have been had with Cabinet colleagues on the adequacy of mental health support for veterans and military charities?

Answer from Gillian Keegan

NHS England has several bespoke services for veterans, including Op Courage. This service provides a complete mental health care pathway and works with military charities to address wider health needs. Veterans can benefit from personalised care plans ensuring support both in and out of hours.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The question asked about discussions with Cabinet colleagues, but the response did not mention any specific discussions or outcomes.

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Q2 Anum Qaisar
NHS Ukraine Veterans
Context

The constituency of Airdrie and Shotts has a long military history. The question addresses concerns over the impact of the war in Ukraine on veteran's mental health.

Question

Given the ongoing events in Ukraine, will the Department come forward with a package of emergency funding for armed forces mental health charities?

Answer from Gillian Keegan

Last year, an additional £2.7 million was committed to expand Op Courage following the events in Afghanistan. NHS England has several bespoke services and initiatives such as the veterans trauma network, prosthetic panel, and GP accreditation scheme. However, given ongoing events in Ukraine, everything will be kept under review.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The question asked for emergency funding but only received a commitment to keep matters under review without specific new commitments or timelines.

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Q3 Rosena Allin-Khan Lab Tooting
Mental Health
Context

Frontline workers have been under immense stress due to the pandemic and deserve proper mental health support. The question also addresses controversial remarks made by another MP about frontline staff.

Question

Will the Minister please condemn those comments and apologise for the hurt caused by those remarks, while supporting proper mental health provision for frontline workers?

Answer from Gillian Keegan

We thank all staff involved in keeping us safe during the pandemic. We are aware of the impact on mental health and additional support is available, including for young people's and adult mental health. A call for evidence was launched to inform a new 10-year cross-departmental mental health vision.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The question asked for condemnation of remarks but received only general statements about support for mental health without addressing the specific comments or offering an apology.

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