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<p>Operation Herrick finished in 2014, so many veterans of the campaign will still
be serving. All Armed Forces personnel are supported by dedicated and comprehensive
medical services, including mental health support. Current Service personnel are provided
with pre- and post-operational stress management training, psychiatric and psychological
treatments, and initiatives such as Trauma Risk Incident Management (TRiM - peer to
peer support after a traumatic incident). The Ministry of Defence announced in October
2017 a new partnership with the Royal Foundation which will provide resources for
training and education for the Armed Forces Community around good Mental Fitness.</p><p>
</p><p>Further measures introduced to support Armed Forces personnel include a new
24-hour mental health helpline targeted at serving personnel and their families allowing
them to access support for any mental health problems anytime, anywhere.</p><p> </p><p>For
those who took part in Operation Herrick, but have left Service, the NHS in England
and the Devolved Administrations are responsible for healthcare, including mental
healthcare, for veterans. Veterans’ health is broadly aligned with that of the rest
of the general population and most veterans’ health requirements are sufficiently
met by existing NHS provision. However, several tailored initiatives are already in
place to cater for specific veteran needs, including priority access to NHS secondary
care in England, Scotland and Wales for Service related conditions, subject to the
clinical need of all patients.</p><p> </p><p>Further measures to improve support to
veterans include the recently announced Veterans Strategy: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategy-for-our-veterans"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategy-for-our-veterans</a>.
By 2028 we will be doing more to ensure that each veteran is valued, contributing
and supported. One of our aims is that all veterans enjoy a state of positive physical
and mental health and wellbeing, enabling them to contribute to wider aspects of society.
In order to achieve this outcome, we will focus our efforts on enabling consistency
of medical outcomes for veterans, through a smooth transition of provision from in-Service
to post-Service and sharing effective practices amongst clinical and healthcare communities;
and providing bespoke treatment for those veterans who have specific health needs
because of their service.</p>
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