Written question WQ94471
- Asked by
- Gareth DaviesConservative
- To be answered by
- Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 4 days
Question
What mental health services do the Welsh Government provide to care-experienced people leaving the armed forces?
Answer
Answered by Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing
Veterans NHS Wales is a tailored national service providing specialised, priority services for armed forces veterans experiencing mental health difficulties related to their military service. It operates an open access policy, accepting referrals from veterans and referrals made on their behalf from family members, statutory and non-statutory services.
We also provide £1.2m every year to Traumatic Stress Wales, which aims to improve the health and wellbeing of people in Wales with, or at risk of, developing PTSD or complex PTSD. A priority for Traumatic Stress Wales is to increase the dissemination of evidence-based specialist interventions to prevent and treat PTSD and complex PTSD.
In May 2023, we launched a Wales-specific, “veteran-friendly” GP practice accreditation scheme, managed by Health Education and Improvement Wales. This enables GP practices to sign up for specialist training and links to resources, helping to support veterans’ health most effectively.
The consultation on the draft Mental Health and Well-being and Suicide and Self-harm Prevention strategies provided a further opportunity to test and explore the issues vulnerable groups, including veterans, face and how we can support them.