The Welsh Government has today announced an extra £100,000 will be invested to support veterans and serving military personal in Wales every year.
The new funding will go to Veterans NHS Wales, which is the UK's only national, dedicated service to support the emotional and mental health needs of armed forces veterans by providing dedicated veteran's therapists in each health board.
Established in 2010 and originally known as the All-Wales Veterans Health and Wellbeing Service, the service has been expanded to cover all Wales. The Welsh Government last year invested £485,000 to support its development.
The further £100,000 of recurrent funding announced today is in addition to an extra £100,000 announced last year. The new investment will ensure veterans receive faster access to assessment and treatment services.
Latest figures show more than 1,100 veterans have received care from Veterans NHS Wales since it was set up in 2010.
Deputy Health Minister Vaughan Gething said:
“We are fully committed to supporting the members of the armed forces and veterans in Wales. Today we are announcing Veterans NHS Wales will receive an additional £100,000 every year to ensure the improvements we delivered in access times last year are maintained.
“Veterans NHS Wales is a unique service – the first of its kind in the UK – offering specialist care and support for veterans' very specific needs.
“We anticipate demand from veterans will increase in the coming years from thoes who have experienced recent conflict and as a result of the redundancies in the military.”
Health and Social Services Minister Mark Drakeford commissioned Public Health Wales to carry out a review of Veterans NHS Wales, which included an analysis of current and future demand for services and a consultation with providers and users about how the service operates and how it could be further improved.
The review found:
- Veterans who used the service are very satisfied with the service and treatment they have received;
- There was unanimous satisfaction with the therapists and the vast majority of veterans who were asked said they were happy with their waiting time;
- A low number of women and early service leavers have accessed Veterans NHS Wales to date. The review also identifies the Welsh prisoner veteran population as an area of potential unmet need.
