Top brass back MoS campaign for Harry’s heroes
PRESSURE was mounting on defence chiefs last night to improve mental healthcare for traumatised troops after former generals, ex-soldier MPs and the charity Help For Heroes backed a campaign launched by Lord Dannatt and The Mail on Sunday.
Former heads of the British Army General Sir Mike Jackson and Field Marshal Lord Guthrie joined our demands for around-the-clock care for shell-shocked soldiers, including a 24/7 helpline which would cost the Ministry of Defence just £2 million.
They were joined by former Army officers Johnny Mercer and Dan Jarvis, who now sit on opposite sides of the House of Commons as Conservative and Labour MPs, ex-SAS officer Colonel Tim Collins and former head of the Royal Navy, Admiral Lord West.
The Mail on Sunday joined forces with Lord Dannatt following the suspected suicide earlier this month of Royal Engineer Nathan Hunt, 39, who fought alongside Prince Harry in Afghanistan.
Last week we disclosed how two more members of Prince Harry’s desert reconnaissance unit had come forward to say that they too had suffered mental health issues as a direct result of their harrowing experiences in the war zone.
Lord Dannatt described the lack of care for traumatised troops as a ‘dereliction of duty by the MoD towards those who defend our country’.
This week, The Mail on Sunday reveals the disturbing story of a suicidal paratrooper who was so traumatised by his frontline experiences that he volunteered to go back to Afghanistan in the hope he would die in combat. Corporal Rob Fisher, 46, also came close to killing himself in Britain.
Last night, General Sir Mike Jackson said: ‘It is self-evident that the current system of providing care is not working. In the sense that there is a problem and it is not being properly addressed, I can only agree and £2million for a hotline does not sound like an awful lot of money in the general scheme of things.
‘A lot of progress has been made since I was a young officer. Back then, PTSD was acknowledged but not taken as seriously as it should have been. But there is still a lot to do.’
Under the current system, mental healthcare for troops is offered only during office hours from Monday to Friday. In the evenings and at weekends, any Forces personnel suffering battlefield-induced trauma are expected to contact military charities or go to A&E.
Lord Dannatt approached Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood last year and suggested that a 24/7 helpline should be set up so servicemen and women suffering from PTSD and other conditions could speak directly to clinical experts.
But, according to Lord Dannatt, Mr Ellwood declined his suggestion on the basis that it was not cost effective – the MoD estimated that only 50 soldiers per year were likely to use the helpline and that recruiting an extra 40 mental healthcare experts to run it and a nationwide outreach programme would cost £2million.
Last night, Lord Guthrie told The Mail on Sunday that the helpline would save lives and should be introduced as soon as possible. He said: ‘Living with PTSD isn’t an office hours problem. Ministers need to
‘PTSD isn’t an office hours problem’
back up their sentiments about soldiers’ welfare with the appropriate level of funding and in this case to find the money to trial the helpline.’
Colonel Collins added: ‘Lord Dannatt’s campaign is crucial.’
Help For Heroes also backed the campaign. A spokesman said: ‘The Government needs to outline what it plans to do to improve the provision for mental healthcare.’
An MoD spokesman said: ‘We’ve looked very carefully at these proposals and our clinical advice is that an MoD-staffed helpline would only extend the time taken for the individual to access the care that they need in a crisis.’