Researchers at Northumbria University are
calling for better measures to be put in place, across the National Health
Service (NHS) and military mental health specific charities, to prevent serving
military personnel and veterans from taking their own lives.
A new report, led by academics from The Northern Hub for Veterans and Military Families Research at Northumbria, identifies
that suicide among serving military personnel and military veterans – many of
whom were known to services and recipients of care - could be reduced if those
that were known to be vulnerable had access to the right help and assistance, at
the right time, with the right intervention, and the right level of care and
support.
The findings come from the report ‘One is too
Many: A Conceptual Framework for Safety Planning within Service Delivery for
Veterans and their Families’, a project funded with a grant from the Armed
Forces Covenant Fund Trust’s "One Is Too Many" programme, which
awarded grants to projects that aim to reduce suicide risks within vulnerable
veterans in a coordinated and targeted way.
As well as in-depth interviews with serving
military and veteran’s families bereaved by suicide, contributors to the new research
included representatives from the health and social care sector, statutory
agencies, third sector organisations, politicians, retired military personnel,
funding agencies, and other critical stakeholders. This method of co-production
identified three main aspects that would improve care provision for serving
military personnel and veterans. These were a person-centred care approach, the
need for a designated individual within the service provider to act as a single
point of contact for the veteran and their family, and a centralised care
service that would provide holistic support for the veteran and their family.
As part of their findings, the research team
has produced an integrated toolkit for government, the NHS and military
charities. The aim of this toolkit is to assist them in identifying gaps in
care delivery and helping them build safer environments in which veterans and
their families can be cared for. Researchers carried out in-depth interviews
with military families across the UK who had been bereaved by suicide,
capturing the detailed stories of families who have tragically lost their loved
ones.
Multiple families repeated similar stories of
being excluded and disconnected from support systems. This leads to further
re-traumatisation and a compound effect in grief and mourning the loss of loved
ones. According to the report’s lead author and Director of The Northern Hub
for Veterans and Military Families Research, Professor Matthew Kiernan, this
needs to change.
“These interviews identified critical problems
with care delivery in the families’ stories,” he said. “Families strongly felt
that they were not being heard, understood, valued, cared for, nor sufficiently
empowered to be any part of care provision in terms preventing the loss of their
loved one”.
“Many of them witnessed first-hand the
slow decline of their loved one’s wellbeing – and felt helpless, and powerless
in preventing what they saw as an inevitable outcome. Families’ experiences
were that of passive care, often disjointed, uncoordinated, with frequent
deficits in understanding and expected levels of compassion and active
engagement”.
“As we move forward it is imperative
that vital lessons are learnt here, and it is essential that families play a
key role in their loved ones’ care provision.”
Researchers acknowledged the pressurised
conditions that health service workers are under, with the study identifying
significant evidence of compassion fatigue; – a complex consequence of the impact
of helping others who have experienced stress or trauma. This is why the team
at Northumbria have produced a toolkit as a self-assessment tool that will support
the NHS, military charities and wider government departments in creating a safe
environment which is focussed on training and education, improving services, strengthening
resources, enhancing protective factors, and challenging stigma with both the
serving military/ veterans and their families at the centre of care and
intervention.
Dr Paul Watson, Assistant
Director of the Northern Hub for Veterans and Military Families Research, said: “Clearly, there is insufficient
understanding within the existing care provision around the journey towards
suicide, and what systems and procedures need to be in place to identify,
understand, and prevent death by suicide in this important population and
beyond”.
“Promoting better levels of education
and training is essential moving forwards.”
The stigma of negative attitudes,
beliefs, and stereotypes is also harmful within the military and veterans’
population, often creating barriers to seeking help and resulting in
potentially devastating effects. Enhancing better military/veteran-focussed mental health awareness
which directly challenges the stigma of death by suicide is essential and the dual
focus of client-centredness and family inclusivity is imperative, according to
the report.
An Office for Veterans' Affairs spokesperson said: “Every veteran
suicide is a tragedy. We welcome this research by Northumbria University, and
will review it as part of our continued work to ensure veterans across the UK
can access the right support.
"As part of our commitment to support veterans, Op COURAGE,
our bespoke mental health pathway for veterans in England, is backed by over
£21 million a year investment, which has seen over 35,000 referrals since it
started."
A
copy of the report, ‘One is too Many: A Conceptual Framework for Safety
Planning within Service Delivery for Veterans and their Families’, can be found
on the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust
website.
Visit the Northern Hub for Veterans and Military Families Research’s webpages to find out
more about their work to improve the health and social wellbeing of
veterans and their families.
Northumbria University is dedicated to reducing health and
social inequalities and improving social, economic and health outcomes for the
most marginalised in society. Through its new Centre for Health and Social Equity, known as CHASE, researchers will be delivering
world-leading health and social equity research and creating innovative,
evidence-based policies and data-driven solutions to bring impactful change
across the region, the UK and globally.
