Westminster Diary - 23rd February 2006

Thursday, 23rd February 2006

We all appreciate the fact that those who are employed in the armed forces or the emergency services put themselves in harms way in order to protect us. We are rightly outraged when men and women who have become physically disabled in the service of their country or their fellow citizens do not receive the care and support they deserve. What we may not appreciate as often as we should is that the damage done may not always be physical. Ever since the phrase ‘shell shock’ was used during the First World War, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and related conditions have increasingly been recognised among military and emergency services personnel who suffer anything from flashbacks to serious mental breakdowns, often in unsympathetic environments.

Although we are all potential victims of PTSD, whether as a result of witnessing natural disasters of almost biblical proportions abroad, terrorist atrocities at home or a whole range of other traumatic events, it is those most often exposed to danger in their working lives who are most at risk. Ironically, it is precisely those people who also feel that they ought to be most able to deal with PTSD and so are least likely to seek help. As with so many other mental illnesses the stigma attached to PTSD must be removed, so that those who serve this country bravely and at great cost to themselves feel able to seek help.

There is no doubt that PTSD wrecks lives – not just the lives of those who suffer from it but also those of their family and friends. It can lead to alcoholism, violence, homelessness and family breakdown. It is costly not only in human terms but also in financial terms when lost earnings and benefits are taken into account.

Over the last few weeks I have been raising this matter in Parliament because I firmly believe enough is not currently being done to help PTSD sufferers, particularly those who have become ill as a result of serving their country. Residential facilities for military personnel have closed in Catterick and North Wales. Early counselling and support can be very effective, but are available in only a handful of places, including the excellent ASSIST Trauma Management in this constituency.

This is not a partisan issue – I hope genuinely that the government takes action to provide in particular more counselling at an early stage. I am pleased to say that a Home Office Minister has agreed to meet me to discuss ways in which more help can be made available to emergency service workers and police officers. Having served us so well, there could not be a group more deserving of our support in return.

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Updated on Thursday, 23rd February 2006