ARMY HIRES PTSD DOCS AT £107,000
Victory for campaign on troops
MILITARY top brass are recruiting £107,000-a-year psychiatrists in the battle against PTSD.
The specialists are being hired to provide what defence chiefs hope will prove to be “early and comprehensive interventions”.
The positions are a victory for the Sunday People’s Save Our Soldiers campaign.
Our coverage has revealed a string of scandals – and calls for an overhaul of how the Ministry of Defence tackles posttraumatic stress disorder and mental health.
Armed Forces charities praised the move, but demanded more help for emotionally scarred veterans struggling on Civvy Street.
Colonel Richard Kemp, who commanded UK troops in Afghanistan, said: “Any action to help resolve the problem among serving soldiers is extremely important. But there is a bigger problem among veterans.”
Tony Hayes, who runs the Veterans’ Voices charity, said: “It is positive that action has been taken. However, it can take 10 or 15 years for PTSD to fully manifest itself. There is no help for veterans and that’s wrong.
“I was in Northern
Ireland and I saw horrible things. It was only a long time l ater when it manifested itself in flashbacks and other symptoms.”
The psychiatrists’ £107,688-a-year pay puts them on a par with senior officers such as brigadiers, and air and naval commodores.
A source said: “It just shows how seriously mental health in the services is being taken. For years the attitude was for people to buck up and just get on with it.”
The two posts, advertised last week, will be with the Defence Medical Services Department at RAF Leeming, North Yorks.
The ad says: “You will provide early and comprehensive interventions, with a strong occupational focus, to a population of mostly young and healthy adults, suffering from common mental health disorders.”
In 2019, 7,769 servicemen and women needed anti-depressants in 2019. And 19,793 were seen for a mental health-related reason in 2019-20 – one in eight personnel. The proportion has been increasing year on year.
The MOD said: “We take the mental health of serving and former personnel extremely seriously. Anyone wishing to seek support can call the MOD Veterans UK helpline on 0808 1914 218.”
SAVE THEM: Our campaign