Condition Age 16-44 Age 45-64 Age 65-74 Age 75+ Musculo-skeletal Higher Lower Lower Cardio-vascular Higher Lower Respiratory Higher Mental health Higher Hearing Higher It is fair to say that, for the most part, the health problems experienced by older veterans are the result of age. By contrast, the problems experienced by younger veterans are more likely to have something to do with their Service history. Indeed, more than half of veterans aged 25-44 with a long-term illness attribute it to their Service. Service injuries Serving in the Forces is a dangerous job and some of the poor health outcomes reported by veterans will be a direct result of the injuries they received in the line of duty. This is an important point when one considers the commissioning context, where veterans are entitled to priority of access to certain NHS treatments if and only if their condition is suspected to be related to their Service. Of the 20,000 or so personnel leaving the Forces each year, around 10% (2,000) are discharged for medical reasons, the majority of which are directly related to Service. The most common cause of medical discharge is muscular-skeletal injury, which accounted for roughly 55%-60% of all medical discharges in the period Other medical conditions relating to Service include: Burns Injury, wounds and scarring Physical disorders including infectious diseases Neurological disorders (including spinal cord, head or brain injuries) Disorders with the senses Loss of limbs Fractures and dislocations To put this discussion into local terms, according to Norfolk Insight, as of 12 July 2011 there were 2020 veterans in Norfolk in receipt of a disablement pension under the War Pension Scheme (WPS) and a further 85 in receipt of payments from the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS). The WPS was a compensation scheme paid to ex-Service personnel who sustained serious injury, illness or death in Service prior to 2005, when it was replaced by the AFCS. The total figure of 3015 veterans receiving compensation for conditions relating to Service consisted of just 3.3% of Norfolk’s total veteran population (at the time that the estimate was made) but it must be acknowledged that the figure is approximate and does not indicate the needs not met by the pension.
Condition Age 16-44 Age 45-64 Age 65-74 Age 75+ Musculo-skeletal Higher Lower Lower Cardio-vascular Higher Lower Respiratory Higher Mental health Higher Hearing Higher It is fair to say that, for the most part, the health problems experienced by older veterans are the result of age. By contrast, the problems experienced by younger veterans are more likely to have something to do with their Service history. Indeed, more than half of veterans aged 25-44 with a long-term illness attribute it to their Service. Service injuries Serving in the Forces is a dangerous job and some of the poor health outcomes reported by veterans will be a direct result of the injuries they received in the line of duty. This is an important point when one considers the commissioning context, where veterans are entitled to priority of access to certain NHS treatments if and only if their condition is suspected to be related to their Service. Of the 20,000 or so personnel leaving the Forces each year, around 10% (2,000) are discharged for medical reasons, the majority of which are directly related to Service. The most common cause of medical discharge is muscular-skeletal injury, which accounted for roughly 55%-60% of all medical discharges in the period Other medical conditions relating to Service include: Burns Injury, wounds and scarring Physical disorders including infectious diseases Neurological disorders (including spinal cord, head or brain injuries) Disorders with the senses Loss of limbs Fractures and dislocations To put this discussion into local terms, according to Norfolk Insight, as of 12 July 2011 there were 2020 veterans in Norfolk in receipt of a disablement pension under the War Pension Scheme (WPS) and a further 85 in receipt of payments from the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS). The WPS was a compensation scheme paid to ex-Service personnel who sustained serious injury, illness or death in Service prior to 2005, when it was replaced by the AFCS. The total figure of 3015 veterans receiving compensation for conditions relating to Service consisted of just 3.3% of Norfolk’s total veteran population (at the time that the estimate was made) but it must be acknowledged that the figure is approximate and does not indicate the needs not met by the pension.
Healthwatch-Norfolk-Veterans-Scoping-Paper-final-version-15-05-15.docx