When Mark Hatfield, now 62, left the army in the 1990s, there was little mental health or wellbeing support for veterans, and after suffering for years with poor mental health, even feeling suicidal at times, he finally decided to seek help in his 50s, with the NHS Op COURAGE service.

And this week, the NHS has announced it is expanding the service, after a survey found that more than half of veterans find it difficult to speak up about mental health issues.

Mark, who joined the army when he was 18 and served for 17 years, understands the difficulties in speaking up. He said: “I knew I

was suffering, but just threw myself into work, going from job to job. It was in my 50s that everything became too much. I felt suicidal and knew I had to stop running away from my problems.”

“Through Op COURAGE I’ve received the support and treatment I need. My therapist Claire has been amazing. I know my mental health issues will always be there – but I now know how to manage it.”

The NHS launched the new campaign to highlight the service, which now includes enhanced specialist support for addictions.

Latest available data shows that from April – November 2023, more than 4,500 referrals were made to the NHS service which provides specialist care, support and treatment to former Armed Forces personnel, reservists, and service leavers with mental health and wellbeing issues.

More than 30,000 referrals have been made to the veteran’s mental health and wellbeing ‘lifeline’ service since it was first launched by the NHS in 2017.

A new survey of over 3,000 veterans and serving personnel, carried out by NHS England, found that the majority (around 60%), of those who took part, said they found it difficult to ask for help for mental health issues.

More than half of respondents (52%) said they currently had, or had previously had, a mental health problem and 54% said they had a physical health problem now or had previously had one.

As a result, NHS England redesigned the service, with a focus on boosting self-referrals, as well as the addition of enhanced addiction support, and today kicked off an awareness campaign highlighting the service which supports veterans, reservists, and service leavers.

Support for veterans, reservists, and service leavers through Op COURAGE is provided by trained professionals from the Armed Forces community or with extensive experience of working with the military.

The service is hosted by Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust in the North West region, who work closely with Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Walking With The Wounded and Combat Stress.

Mark, who lives in Manchester, now volunteers with Walking with the Wounded, an armed forces charity that works in partnership with Op COURAGE. Mark adds: “I now support other veterans – it really helps me that I’m helping others. They know that I understand the experiences they have gone through, give them hope in their own personal road to recovery.”

Dr Jonathan Leach OBE, NHS England Associate Medical Director for Armed Forces and Veterans Health, said: “The NHS Op COURAGE service is unique – our staff are not only highly trained clinical professionals, but they are also either ex-military or know the military culture first-hand. This sets them up to provide a non-judgemental service and build trust with those seeking help.

“Our research has found that veterans can often struggle to know when to ask for help, but by providing them with professionals who have a deeper understanding of what they are going through, we are able to share success stories.”

ENDS

1. Visit Op COURAGE for more information about the service.
2. In 2022, NHS England launched a survey to find out people’s views and experiences of veterans mental and physical health services. The information gathered has been used to help inform the development and provision of these services, in particular Op COURAGE: The Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Service and Op RESTORE: The Veterans Physical Health and Wellbeing Service.
3. The survey was live between 8 April 2022 and 22 May 2022 and received 3,095 responses.
4. Respondents included a mix of veterans (85%), serving personnel, reservists and their family members and carers, as well as organisations and representatives from the NHS, military and non-military charities and other sectors.
5. 1,487 (52%) indicated they had a mental health problem presently or previously and 1,527 (54%) indicated they had a physical health problem presently or previously.