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<p>The Ministry of Defence takes very seriously the welfare of Armed Forces personnel
and veterans.</p><p>Fortunately, suicide among members of the Armed Forces remains
extremely rare and is generally lower than comparative rates in the civilian population.
Our own studies relevant to the suicide rate among veterans of the UK Armed Forces
looked at deaths that occurred among veterans of the 1990/91 Gulf and veterans of
the 1982 Falklands campaign. Both studies show that there was no excess in the rates
of suicide in these groups of veterans and is lower than comparative rates in the
civilian population.</p><p>The NHS in England and the Devolved Administrations are
primarily responsible for the provision of healthcare, including mental healthcare,
for veterans.</p><p>Veterans in England, Scotland and Wales receive priority access
to NHS secondary care for Service-related conditions, subject to the clinical need
of all patients. The Ministry of Defence also provides support through its Departments
of Community Mental Health, and the Veterans and Reserves Mental Health Programme.
In England, veterans and Service personnel approaching discharge benefit from the
new NHS England transition, intervention and liaison (TIL) mental health service launched
on 1 April 2017.</p><p>Veterans can also access support services from:</p><p>www.gov.uk/mental-health-support-for-the-uk-armed-forces
or call the 24-hour veterans' mental health helpline on 0800 138 1619 or the Veterans
Gateway:</p><p>https://www.veteransgateway.org.uk/</p>
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