Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help armed forces veterans access mental health support in Leigh and Atherton constituency.

NHS England commissions Op COURAGE, the integrated mental health and wellbeing service, which allows veterans to make self-referrals. The Op COURAGE North service, run by the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, covers the Leigh and Atherton constituency area.

The service, which is available across England, has been designed to support veterans from all areas, and is delivered from a range of locations, including National Health Service trusts, general practices (GPs), Poppy Shops, veteran hubs, and drop-in centres. Elements of the service may also be provided online if this is clinically appropriate. The Government recognises that not all veterans want to use veteran-specific mental health services and can instead choose to use mainstream National Health Services, such as talking therapies, which are available to both veterans and civilians.

GPs are able to participate in the Veteran Friendly Practice Accreditation Scheme, which is a free support programme for GPs in England that enables GPs to easily identify, understand, and support veterans, and, where appropriate, refer them to specialist healthcare services designed especially for them, such as Op COURAGE. Over 99% of Primary Care Networks have at least one GP accredited as Veteran Friendly.