UK Veteran PTSD Diagnosed 5 Fold Increase

Wounded war heroes have increased by 200 per cent, official figures show
Express UK
John Ingham
July 14, 2014

BRITAIN'S wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have helped trigger a 200 per cent increase in military wounded over five years, official figures revealed today.

The casualties include a five-fold increase in soldiers diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - usually the legacy of their battlefield experiences.

The figures released by the MoD for 2009-13 tally with warnings given by the charity Combat Stress which specialises in treating PTSD.

It believes there are at least 10,000 veterans living with mental conditions who need urgent help.

And in February former SAS commander Brigadier Ed Butler, who commanded British forces in Afghanistan in 2006, said there is a "bow wave coming" of mental health cases.

The MoD figures reveal the forgotten side of combat.

Britain lost 179 personnel in Iraq and has lost 453 in Afghanistan in some of the heaviest fighting since the Korean War.

But the MoD says nearly another 9,000 seriously injured British troops have been medically discharged from the armed forces in the last five years.

The figures for all categories of medical discharges - including mental health conditions - have soared by 222 per cent since 2009.
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