Every year on Remembrance Day people of all ages across the nation pay tribute to the sacrifice and commitment of those who have served in our armed forces and remember all those who have died for their country in the First World War and all wars since.
It is impossible to overstate the massive contribution that those serving in our armed forces make to keeping our nation safe, often at great personal risk, and for this they deserve the very best services and support.
Whilst significant progress has been made here in Wales over the years, some services are still lacking, particularly for those suffering with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Around 9,000 veterans in Wales suffer from PTSD. Among combat veterans, there is a common pattern of complex post-traumatic stress disorder, with attempted symptom suppression by alcohol or drug abuse, a downward spiral of employment difficulties, relationship problems, confrontation with the law and even suicide.
As Chair of the Cross Party Group on the Armed Forces and Cadets in the Assembly, I have long been highlighting the dreadful impact of PTSD on many former servicemen and women, and their families, in Wales, and calling for more to be done to help them.
In 2008, the Command paper, ‘The Nation’s Commitment: Cross-Government Support to our Armed Forces, their Families and Veterans’ was presented to the UK parliament. It asserts that regular military personnel, reservists, veterans and their families must not be disadvantaged and that this will sometimes call for degrees of special treatment.
Special treatment is provided for veterans in Wales in the form of Veterans NHS Wales, which was set up in 2010 with the aim of improving the mental health and wellbeing of veterans with a service related mental health problem. Whilst establishment of the service was very welcome indeed, it is currently underfunded and many veterans are still experiencing unacceptable waiting times to access the support they need.
Last year Academy Wales Research identified a shortfall in the capacity of the Veterans NHS Wales service to meet current levels of demand. In response the Welsh Government provided a welcome £100,000 funding boost to the service, but this was a far cry from the extra investment the service itself says is needed.
At a recent meeting of the Cross Party Group for the Armed Forces and Cadets, the Principal Clinician of the service, Dr Neil Kitchiner, said the issues with funding has created a massive level of uncertainty amongst the patients and staff. He estimated that they actually needed £0.5 million to start doing outreach work in Welsh prisons, with female veterans, the families of veterans, and serving personnel sick at home who are going to be medically discharged to the NHS.
He also highlighted the fact that funding for Veterans NHS Wales is well below that of other UK NHS services, despite being the only National Veterans Service in the UK.
The UK Government is committed to ensuring that those who have given so much in the service of their country should receive the best possible care and announced in their 2015 Budget that they will provide an additional £8.4 million over the next 5 years to allow the NHS across England to significantly enhance current mental health and support services to the most vulnerable veterans in the community. It is a great shame that here in Wales there has been no similar commitment to increase funding for veterans services here in Wales, despite the increasing workload for the service each year.
As we remember those in our armed forces who have made the ultimate sacrifice, let us not forget those vulnerable former servicemen and women who remain with us and need our help. Their professionalism and courage sets an example to young people across Wales and it is only right that we should show our appreciation and admiration by providing them with the support and top quality services they so deserve.