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<p>The Ministry of Defence (MOD) 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 new partnership,
announced last October, with the Royal Foundation, aimed at helping maintain and develop
good mental fitness. And in February 2018, the Secretary of State 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 £2 million
of annual funding for military mental health services, on top of the £20 million a
year we already spend.</p><p>For serving personnel, mental health services are already
provided 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. DCMH Donnington is located in Telford,
Shropshire, and covers the regions of the West Midlands (including Coventry) and Wales.
It also provides a visiting clinic four times a week to Defence Medical Services (DMS)
Whittington in South Staffordshire, to improve access for patients based in or around
the West Midlands.</p><p>Personnel leaving the Armed Forces who have had mental health
issues during their Service are able to access services at a local DCMH (including
Donnington) 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.
Where a Service person is leaving the Armed Forces but has 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.</p><p>The
VMH-TILS service provider for the Midlands and East of England region (which includes
Coventry) is Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust. The service provides a range of
treatment and support for veterans, as well as Armed Forces personnel approaching
discharge. The VMH-TILS will arrange for veterans to be referred if necessary to the
NHS England Veterans' Mental Health Complex Treatment Service (VMH-CTS) which will
be launched on 1 April 2018; the service provider for the West Midlands is Birmingham
and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust.</p><p>Other services available from
MOD to veterans in the West Midlands and elsewhere include the Veterans and Reserves
Mental Health Programme (VRMHP), for veterans that have served since 1982 and Reservists
with operational service overseas since 2003 (also provided through DCMH Donnington),
and the Veterans UK and Veterans Welfare Service.</p>
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