Screening for PTSD in doubt in UK

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder treatment U-turn
By Julian O'Halloran
BBC File on 4



A government plan to provide more help for mentally ill soldiers has been thrown into doubt weeks after it was announced by the Ministry of Defence.

The scheme, unveiled by the MoD in May, was aimed at early diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder and other conditions affecting combat soldiers.

But a defence minister has told the BBC he opposes screening.

Veterans' charities say the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts alone will cause thousands of cases of mental illness.

The Ministry of Defence said last month it was "committed to creating an effective, through-life, mental health scheme for our Service and ex-Service personnel".

Screening debate

It stressed: "A dedicated programme for those leaving the Armed Forces will be established to tackle post-combat mental health issues: a new mental health screening service within the Armed Forces will work to identify problems early on, and for those who need specialist help, we will establish Britain's first dedicated PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) treatment programme within the NHS."

However, Andrew Robathan, Minister for Personnel, Welfare and Veterans, told BBC File on 4: "I think most expert opinion is that you should not screen people for mental health issues because first of all there is no scientifically robust way that you can do that and indeed the downside of suggesting that people have mental health problems when actually they do not have, is actually quite immense and of great concern."
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