Updated on
In the last 20 years, almost 40,000 wounded men and women have been medically discharged from the Armed Forces, their injuries ending the career they have given their all to.
Over 25% of these have been since the end of the war in Afghanistan, despite the British Armed Forces not being engaged in active conflict during this period.
Thousands of those discharged fall through gaps in support.
Based on a survey by Help for Heroes, 403 Veterans supported the charity who have been medically discharged revealed:
- 70% felt their transition to civilian life was a negative experience
- over 60% felt they didn’t receive enough support while transitioning out of the Armed Forces.
A report, published on 8 October 2019, revealed that:
Some veterans are being discharged with a physical injury before receiving a full diagnosis for their mental health condition(s);
The time given to transition after medical discharge varies hugely;
There are problems with the compensation process (80% of polled respondents said they were not made aware of their compensation award before they left the military, with 1 in 4 of those having to wait over 10 months to find out).
Mel Waters, Help for Heroes CEO said:
“Injuries have ended 40,000 military careers in 20 years and every day this number grows. Many of them tell us that their transition impacted significantly on their health, wellbeing and family.
"The medical discharge process is seriously failing those who are let down by major inconsistencies in support, so we’re calling on the Government to commission an independent review of the process to close those gaps.
With the public’s support, we’re on a mission to ensure every wounded hero has the best opportunity to stand strong in civilian life”
We’re asking you to join our mission and support our 40,000 Strong by donating to receive your very own boxed figure from the 40,000 Strong Manchester installation.