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<p>The Ministry of Defence is absolutely committed to the mental health of our Service
personnel, providing robust training, welfare support and development opportunities.
When necessary, we ensure that both serving personnel and veterans are given the mental
healthcare and treatment they need. We do this by working in close partnership with
a variety of different organisations, including the NHS (which is responsible for
the provision of healthcare, including mental healthcare, for veterans) and Service
charities such as Combat Stress.</p><p>Recent initiatives include the Defence People
Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, launched in July 2017, which covers all Defence
people and identifies the need for strong partnerships with the Department of Health,
the NHS in England and the Devolved Administrations and the charitable sector, and
a new operating model focusing on Promote, Prevent, Treat and Detect.</p><p>In October
2017, we announced a new partnership with the Royal Foundation, aimed at helping maintain
and develop good mental fitness. And on 25 February this year, the Secretary of State
for Defence announced that we have built on our existing partnership with Combat Stress
to provide a new MOD-funded Military Mental Health Helpline for Serving personnel
and their families, providing out-of-hours advice and assistance and running in conjunction
with the charity's existing helpline for the veterans' community. We will also be
providing an additional £2million of annual funding for military mental health services,
on top of the £20million a year we already spend.</p><p>Mental health services are
already provided for serving personnel through a network of 20 permanent locations,
comprising 11 Departments of Community Mental Health (DCMHs); six Mental Health Teams
(MHTs); and three locations with a permanent Community Mental Health Nurse. These
support the provision of healthcare that is available through Service primary care
facilities. In-patient care is provided in dedicated psychiatric units through a central
contract MOD has with a partnership of eight NHS Trusts.</p><p>Personnel leaving the
Armed Forces who have had mental health issues during their Service are eligible to
access services at a local DCMH for up to six months after discharge, to help them
during the transition period. A Veterans' Transition Protocol ensures any Service
person discharged with a diagnosed mental health disorder is handed over appropriately
to the NHS in England.</p><p>Where a Service person leaving the Armed Forces has an
enduring need for mental healthcare, we work in partnership with NHS England through
the Veterans Mental Health Transition, Intervention and Liaison Service (VMH-TILS),
to ensure continuity of care. The VMH-TILS service provides a range of treatment and
support for veterans, as well as Armed Forces personnel approaching discharge. It
will arrange for veterans to be referred if necessary to the NHS England Veterans'
Mental Health Complex Treatment Service (VMH-CTS) which launches on 1 April 2018.</p><p>Other
services available from MOD to veterans include the Veterans and Reserves Mental Health
Programme (VRMHP), for veterans that have served since 1982 and Reservists with operational
service overseas since 2003 (provided through the DCMHs), and the Veterans UK and
Veterans Welfare Service.</p>
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