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Veterans plenary
Meeting of Veterans plenary - 28 March 2007
Veterans health services, address by Rt Hon Rosie Winterton MPINTRODUCTION
1. Thank you so much for inviting me along today.
2. For my own part, I would like to express my deep gratitude for the wonderful
job our forces are doing in the current war zones, as well as remembering
those who took part in previous conflicts on behalf of our country.
3. I had a recent meeting with my colleague, Derek Twigg, and it was clear that we were at one about the future direction of health care for war veterans and for the continuing need for priority treatment to ensure that waiting times are not a problem for them.
4. We share a commitment to providing the best possible care to those who have chosen to protect our country at home and overseas.
MILITARY HOSPITALS AND SELLY OAK
5. I am aware that a major issue with many veterans has been the closure of the hospitals that exclusively, or mainly, provided facilities for the forces.
6. I completely understand why those cherished institutions were so liked, and I can quite understand the sense of loss that many people have experienced about this.
7. However, we must always return to our commitment to deliver the best possible care. We do have to be realistic about what services can be provided in smaller units. It is now clear that general hospitals can provide a level of care which small hospitals cannot match.
8. Medical practice has advanced at a rapid pace, and will continue to do so. By making the best use of modern technology, more lives can be saved, and quality of lives improved.
9. This is already happening, and I must pay tribute to now to the work of the staff – both in the NHS and the medical defence services – at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham. I echo the Prime Minister in saying that they are doing a superb job for our armed forces.
10. Since 2001, Selly Oak has been the main receiving unit for seriously wounded soldiers returning from war zones. In these six years, the hospital has treated over 6,000 military inpatients and nearly 30,000 military outpatients.
11. Unlike a military hospital, the hospital Trust of which Selly Oak is a part of is a major specialist provider and has expertise in -
- trauma;
- burns;
- plastic surgery; and
- neuroscience.
12. As such, patients can benefit from advanced levels of care across a range of medical disciplines. These can only be found in a major trauma hospital like Selly Oak.
13. Our business is saving and improving lives and that is what we must do for everyone, both military and civilian.
SERVICE LIKE ENVIRONMENT
14. I do fully understand that military personnel would prefer to be treated in a service like environment, and I agree that this is something we should work on . We will work together with the Ministry of Defence to ensure that this is achieved whenever possible.
15. We are committed to delivering this at Selly Oak. You may be aware that Selly Oak provides clinical care for military patients within a ward staffed by a combined team of military and civilian personnel. This ward is military managed, being under the charge of a military nurse since December last year.
16. This July, Selly Oak will go further with an expansion of the ward , and a shift to a greater balance of military staff and separate security arrangements.
17. As a health service, a national health service, we are committed to giving all our citizens the best health care that we can.
18. We cannot provide very specialist services everywhere and there will be, inevitably, times when combat casualties will need to be treated in hospitals that aren’t as close to their family homes as we would like. However, this government is constantly striving to improve levels of care.
MENTAL HEALTH
19. I would also like to say something about mental health. We do so much covering up, pretending and trying to give others the impression that all is OK, when it isn’t.
20. The reality is that fighting in current conflicts places great demands on people – that sometimes don’t show up for some time afterwards.
21. The important thing is that people acknowledge their problems and seek appropriate help.
22. Both the Department of Health and the MOD have realised that not enough is currently available at the standard we need.
23. That is why we have started a project to make sure that psychological help of the right kind is available throughout the country. We are developing pilots at the moment with a view to bringing together the expertise from the military and the NHS in each region to make sure everyone gets the help they need.
24. We are also working hard to make sure that more readily accessible psychological help is available to everyone.
25. Last year, we embarked on a major new programme to provide more effective and timely access to psychological therapies for people with mild to moderate mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression. We expect the programme to provide robust evidence in favour of increasing psychological therapy capacity.
26. We have also made great progress in increasing the numbers of staff available to provide this help. This needs to be there, not just for those who choose to identify themselves as veterans, but also for those who don’t.
CONCLUSION
27. But, finally. Thank you for this opportunity and for allowing me to confirm the commitment of the National Health Service to provide and to prioritise the backup needed to those prepared to risk their lives and health in the interests of our country.
