The Report of the Baha Mousa Inquiry can be accessed from the Inquiry's site at the link below, but some may have difficulty accessing the pages, via Google Docs. Our immediate reaction is that the Chairman's statement was impressive, but we will be examining the report in more detail and would welcome comments from logged-in BAFF members and BAFF military supporters.

The report of the Baha Mousa inquiry will be released later today, Thursday 08 Sep 2011. The Chairman of the Inquiry will make a short statement at 11.00am "to mark the laying of the Inquiry Report before Parliament later in the day". BBC News reports:

A survey carried out on behalf of leading charity Combat Stress has revealed that 49 per cent of GPs are familiar with guidelines on PTSD from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on PTSD. Only 42 per cent were familiar with the guidelines. The Daily Telegraph reports that:

Half of doctors are unaware of official guidelines on how to diagnose mental health trauma because of battle scars from the frontline, a survey has found.

The news will lead to fears that thousands of veterans are not being diagnosed early enough to prevent the onset of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

A survey carried out by independent pollster ComRes found that just 42 per cent of GPs are familiar with guidelines on PTSD from National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on PTSD.

Forty-nine per cent said they were not familiar with them at all. ComRes, which was commissioned by veterans mental health charity Combat Stress, surveyed 1,006 GPs across the UK in July 2011.

The guidelines set out clinical best practice on how medical professional should manage and deal with PTSD sufferers, as well offering ways of treating the mental illness.

Combat Stress, the veterans’ mental health charity which is raising money through its 'Enemy Within' appeal to deal with the problem, said its figures showed that too few doctors were diagnosing PTSD among veterans.

It found that over the past 12 months just 5 per cent of the 1,426 veterans it helped were referred to it by GPs.

Failing to diagnose PTSD early, and take medical action, can lead to the onset of much more serious problems, such as alcoholism and depression.

Walter Busuttil, Combat Stress's medical services director, said: “Our clinical audits tell us that 80 per cent of veterans who come to Combat Stress for clinical treatment have first tried to get help from either their GP or other specialist services, but have not received the support and treatment that they needed.

“This has led to around half the veterans who come to Combat Stress each year essentially self-referring.”

Dr Clare Gerada, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, admitted that “inequalities persist surrounding the care of military personnel when they return to the UK”, adding that the college has produced guidance “to help GPs better understand veterans’ particular needs”.

She added: “Veterans pose a unique challenge for GPs, but the role the generalist can play in identifying post traumatic stress disorder, or indeed any other mental health problems that may manifest as a result of the often difficult and dangerous situations that veterans work in around the world, is invaluable.”

More than 180,000 British troops have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003.

... Last year, Combat Stress launched its “Enemy Within” appeal, supported by The Daily Telegraph, to raise funds for the network of psychiatric nurses to treat veterans.

To contribute to Combat Stress's Enemy Within appeal, send a cheque payable to "Combat Stress" to the charity at Tyrwhitt House, Oaklawn Road, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 0BX.

Or go to www.combatstress.org.uk/tele to donate online.

• Full story, by Christopher Hope Whitehall Editor, The Daily Telegraph
• NICE clinical guideli on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Defence Select Committee Inquiry into Medical Care for the Armed Forces - Written evidence from the British Armed Forces Federation (BAFF)
• Combat stress: 44 calls every week to Government helpline to discuss mental health problems

According to The Sunday Telegraph (04 Sep), Church of England Bishops are set to warn ministers that plans to care for the armed forces do not go far enough:

The Sunday Telegraph (04 Sep 2011) reports that British troops are being asked to secretly inform on their comrades as part of an investigation into allegations that soldiers systematically abused civilians during the Iraq War. The report, which includes significant comments from the British Armed Forces Federation (BAFF) spokeman, continues:

Portsmouth News reports that the ban on women serving in Royal Navy submarines is "set to be lifted" after medical experts told the Ministry of Defence that female sailors face no greater hazard on boats than their male colleagues. This news is in line with earlier predictions. The News' story continues:

The Chairman of the Baha Mousa Inquiry has announced that he intends to publish his report on 8 September 2011. The Sunday Telegraph says that the three-year inquiry into how Mr Baha Mousa died while in British custody in Iraq "will clear the Army of operating a systematic regime of torture". There is no room for complacency, because according to the newspaper, the inquiry will instead criticise individual soldiers and failings in the chain of command which led to his mistreatment:

Previous studies in both the UK and US have found that, compared with regular troops, reserve military personnel had more mental health issues -- including more symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) -- after returning home from operations in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The latest research at King's College London suggests that difficulty readjusting to civilian life may account for some of that extra risk.

Members of the armed forces can be at a disadvantage when they need to borrow after they return from overseas or leave the services, because their itinerant lifestyle and lack of credit history can ruin their chances.

Your borrowing needs in future years could include buying a car, obtaining a mortgage to buy a family home, or even starting your own business.

According to the credit reporting company Experian Interactive:

Your credit status is based on a host of factors, from a track record of repaying what you owe to being on the electoral register.

If you don’t meet the normal criteria because of a military career, you could find it difficult to get credit or have to pay higher interest because lenders don’t know whether you’ll be reliable.

Fortunately, according to an article on MoneyExpert.com, there are a number of things which you can do to improve your credit score:

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Category: Articles

Published: 20 August 2011