Veterans

Veterans

Terminology: Veterans are people who have previously been a member of the armed forces.

  • One study found that UK veterans are more likely to experience common mental health conditions, PTSD and alcohol misuse than non-veterans (Rhead et al., 2022).
  • Systematic reviews suggest that the prevalence of combat-related PTSD amongst veterans ranges from 1 – 35%; and that veterans are at a higher risk of substance use/misuse than civilians (Oster et al., 2017). There is limited research investigating the prevalence of other mental health conditions in veteran populations (Oster et al., 2017).
  • Mental health and behavioural conditions are the second most common cause of medical discharge from the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force (Briggs, 2014).

Local population

There were around 29,000 veterans who had previously served in the UK armed forces in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough in 2021. This ranges from 4.5% of the population in Huntingdonshire to 1.6% in Cambridge. Click here for further analysis of this data, including breakdown by MSOA , service type and residence type.

Table: Number and percentage of usual residents who have previously served in the UK armed forces in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Census 2021. Data source: Census 2021, analysis by Cambridgeshire County Council. Note that the 2021 Census was the first Census which collected data on UK armed forces veterans, so it not possible to compare this to previous years.

Risk factors for poor mental health

  • Many veterans have good mental wellbeing. However, the type of military service, as well as transition into military life, can have a negative impact on mental health for some veterans (Oster et al., 2017).
  • Trauma exposure is higher in veterans than non-veterans (Duan-Porter et al., 2018).
  • There are high rates of PTSD, anxiety and depression amongst veterans with a physical disability (Oster et al., 2017).

Access

(Randles & Finnegan, 2022) identified multiple barriers to accessing mental health services which may be faced by veterans, including:

  • Military culture of self-reliance
  • Stigma around mental illness
  • Poor accessibility of mental health services (e.g. transport)
  • Lack of veteran-specific services
  • Perceived lack of understanding from civilian healthcare professionals

Experience

  • All veterans are entitled to priority access to NHS care (including hospital, primary and community care) for conditions associated with their time within the armed forces. However, they may not get priority access if services are not aware that they are a veteran.
  • Op COURAGE provides specialist mental health and wellbeing care and support for veterans and their families.

There is limited information on experiences of veterans within both specialist and generalist mental health services.

Outcomes

There is limited information on experiences and outcomes of veterans within both specialist and generalist mental health services.

Additional resources

References

Full list of references is included at the end of this chapter.

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