Speaking in the Assembly Chamber this afternoon, North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has called on the Welsh Government to do more to support the Armed Forces Community in Wales.
During the Welsh Conservative Debate in Remembrance Week on Support for the Armed Forces Community in Wales, Mr Isherwood said that Wales should be at the forefront of implementing the Armed Forces Covenant and called for an Armed Forces Commissioner for Wales, a Veterans Needs Assessment, improved support for veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and more funding for the Veterans NHS Wales Service.
He said:
“In this Remembrance Week we propose that the National Assembly for Wales recognises that those who serve or who have served in the armed forces and their families, should be treated with fairness and respect and believe that Wales should be at the forefront of implementing the Armed Forces Covenant, which is intended to "redress the disadvantages that the armed forces community may face in comparison to other citizens, and to recognise sacrifices made".
“We call on the Welsh Government to note the Scottish Government's creation of a Scottish Veterans Commissioner in 2014, to champion the needs of the Armed Forces community, and to create an Armed Forces Commissioner for Wales, dedicated to improving outcomes for both veterans and serving forces, and their families. This role has been supported and endorsed by the Armed Forces community and Armed Services Heads.
“We also call on the Welsh Government to introduce a veterans needs assessment, as the basis for delivering services to ensure that former members of the armed forces are entitled to receive the support they deserve.”
He added: “All 22 Local Authorities in Wales have in place an Armed Forces Community Covenant, requiring them to have elected Member Armed Forces Champions, but more is needed.”
Mr Isherwood also stressed that improved Welsh Government data collection is vital in order to establish the health needs of veterans and said that without it “we cannot plan for the NHS Wales capacity needed, commission the wider services required, or provide the support on which families and carers depend, and we cannot deliver on the promise made by the Armed Forces Covenant that those who serve or have served in the armed forces, and their families, are treated fairly.”
He also told the Chamber that Instead of £585,000, Veterans NHS Wales have stated that they need £1 million annually to meet the mental health needs of the Armed Forces Community in Wales and expressed concern that “between 60 and 65% met criteria for post traumatic stress disorder with the mean time from referral to first appointment being 42 days, outside the Welsh Government’s 28 day target for Primary Care referral to assessment, and that real referral to treatment waiting times were up to 38 weeks last month.