Veterans: Access to health services

Healthcare for veterans

Primary healthcare for service personnel is provided by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). The provision of veterans’ healthcare is primarily the responsibility of the NHS. Upon discharge, service leavers should register with a General Practitioner (GP) and provide the GP with their medical records.

The Armed Forces Covenant says veterans have distinct health needs and should receive priority treatment for service-related conditions. The Support for veterans and their families webpage on gov.uk provides online advice to support these needs.

NHS policies for veterans in England

In 2015, the NHS constitution was updated with a commitment to ensure that “those in the armed forces, reservists, their families and veterans are not disadvantaged in accessing health services in the area they reside”. Further to this, in the 2021 publication Healthcare for the Armed Forces community: a forward view (PDF), NHS England stated its commitment to:

• help the transition from the armed forces to civilian life
• identify and support veterans
• improve veterans’ and their families’ mental health

In January 2022, the Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan: 2022-2024 said that NHS England would provide £18 million over three years for specified support services, including veteran health services, and that the government would make £5 million available in 2022/23 for a ‘Health Innovation Fund’. The action plan further stated that NHS England was working to increase the number of GP practices, NHS trusts, independent providers and hospices that hold ‘Veteran Aware’ accreditation.

Mental health support for veterans

In March 2021 the government announced the Op Courage service, creating a single point to access mental health services and support for veterans. Op Courage provides mental health care and support. This includes support to recognise and treat early to advanced mental health problems and treatment for substance misuse and addictions. Op Courage will also liaise with other organisations to address wider wellbeing needs and support armed forces families affected by mental health problems. As of 30 June 2024, Op Courage was actively supporting 2,702 veterans.

In Wales, veterans can access specialised mental health support through Veterans’ NHS Wales.

Veterans in Scotland can receive mental health treatment through NHS Scotland and can further access support for free through the Veterans First Point drop-in service.

Veterans in Northern Ireland can contact the Veterans Welfare Service Northern Ireland (VWS NI) to seek support.

Veterans and suicide prevention

The office for National Statistics (ONS) report on Suicides in UK armed forces veterans, England and Wales: 2021 found that in 2021, in England and Wales, 4.9% people aged 16 years and over in the UK who died by suicide were armed forces veterans. Of these, 94% were male and 6% were female. The ONS did not find evidence of differing rates of suicide between male UK armed forces veterans and the male general population. It did however find that 25 to 44-year-old male UK armed forces veterans had a higher rate of suicide than the same age group in the general population.

A study looking at suicides among veterans who left the UK Armed Forces between 1996 and 2018 was published by the University of Manchester in August 2023. It found that the overall risk of suicide in veterans is not higher than the general population but that the risk among men and women veterans under the age of 25 was two to three times higher than that of the same group in the general population.

In 2023, the then government published its Suicide prevention strategy for England: 2023 to 2028 in 2023. In August 2024 the government stated that the MOD is currently conducting a study into mortality rates and causes, including suicide, of military personnel who served since 2001.

Support for service-related physical injuries

Information about services for veterans with service-related physical injuries can be found on the NHS website. This includes information on Op Restore: The Veterans Physical Health and Wellbeing Service, which provides services alongside military and civilian clinicians.

In September 2023, the then government announced it was reinstating the Veterans’ Mobility Fund to deliver grants and equipment to veterans with mobility needs linked to their service.

Nine Disablement Service Centres have been set up across England to provide specialist prosthetic and rehabilitation services similar to those provided by the armed forces. As well as this, in 2012 the Veterans Prosthetic Panel was established to provide funding to veterans who have lost a limb during military service.

In Scotland there is a National Specialist Prosthetics (SOTA) Service. The service is focused on the SMART centre in Edinburgh and the WestMARC centre in Glasgow, which are linked to the other limb fitting centres in Aberdeen, Inverness and Dundee.

In Wales, three specialist centres in Cardiff, Swansea and Wrexham provide veterans with NHS Wales Prosthetic and Amputee Rehabilitation services.

In Northern Ireland, veterans can utilise the Regional Disablement Service which specialises in the rehabilitation of patients who have had an amputation of a limb or limbs.

Commons Library briefings on veterans' issues

Our veterans’ collection of briefings provide information on support and services available to veterans on a variety of topics including: access to housing, healthcare, employment and benefits, as well as information on compensation and pension schemes. Our briefings explain what the Armed Forces Covenant is and its status in law, the evolution of government policy towards veterans, and veteran-specific legislation.

Our briefings also provide information on how to access service records, maintaining and funding war memorials, how to apply for medals and prominent medal campaigns.

Our data dashboard shows the number of veterans by constituency and lists the top 20 constituencies with the highest proportion of former armed forces personnel.