A conference co-organised by Northumbria University and the Royal British Legion in Newcastle looked at
why military veterans find it difficult to get help for alcohol and substance
misuse.
It follows research from Northumbria University's Northern Hub for Veterans and Military Families, funded by the Royal British
Legion, which warns that veterans from recent conflicts like Afghanistan and
Iraq are likely to hit ‘crisis point’ in the coming years over drugs and
alcohol abuse.
For many veterans, excessive alcohol consumption was the norm during service,
but a study by The Northern Hub for Veterans and Military Families Research found
that it took, on average, 18 years for a veteran with substance misuse
(primarily alcohol) to engage with meaningful help.
Northumbria University Veteran's Conference from Northumbria University on Vimeo.
Dr Matt
Kiernan, a former Lieutenant Commander in the Queen
Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service, led the research. He said: “Given the nature of conflict and the intensity of conflict that younger
veterans have been involved in, there is a potential that we’re going to see a
lot more significant problems in the coming years around substance misuse in
the broader term. I think we need to be ready for that and I think we need to
start planning how we manage for that and engage with those veterans.”
Marcus Hawthorn, Area Manager for
the Royal British Legion, said: “We
welcome the research which unpicked potential barriers to veterans accessing
treatment, particularly stigma and military culture, as well as the
complexities of the NHS system. We now need to talk about how we assess these barriers, alongside better
education and awareness of veterans’ healthcare needs.
“The conference brought together all the key players in the North East region so we can work together to produce a better
care pathway for veterans. This isn’t just about funding, it’s about being
creative, working better together, being more efficient and enabling better
outcomes for veterans.
“We are also working with the MoD to address alcohol use in
Service and praise the MoD for their work so far.”
Military veteran Ger Fowler from Sunderland spoke at the conference. He said: “It’s
good to see the Royal British Legion funding research here in the North East –
Sunderland alone has 26,500 veterans, and has the largest Remembrance parade
outside of London.
“Drugs and alcohol are definitely a problem in military life, alcohol in
particular is embedded in the culture. In good times and bad, service men
and women turn to alcohol; as long as you did your job the next day, nobody
would bat an eyelid.
“Things are getting better, the military are more aware of the problem these
days, but a lot of younger service personnel use drugs rather than alcohol.
“One of the biggest problems with veterans is pride – they won’t ask for help
even when they hit rock bottom. But pride often leaves them on the
streets. The support is there for our veterans, and it’s very good, but
they need to access it.
“I suffered from PTSD after a five-year military career, which included 18
months in Northern Ireland. I was a survivor of the Ballygawley bus bombing in
1988, simply because I got off the bus before the explosion, but it affected
me. Eight of my colleagues were killed by an IRA roadside bomb. I turned to
drugs and alcohol during service and although I wouldn’t say I was an addict it
definitely impacted on my mental health.
“When I returned to Civvy Street, I ran a bakery for a while but gave it up and
decided to use £10,000 of my own money to help other veterans. Thanks to
additional funding from the Royal British Legion, I’ve helped more than 60 veterans through
my Homeless Veterans Service and it’s taken
over my life for the past five years - 20 of my clients helped with the
Northumbria University study. One client was drinking 18-litres of white cider
a day – I didn’t think that was physically possible.
“Helping veterans is the best thing I’ve ever done in my life, I love it and
I’ll do it for the rest of my days. There is no better feeling than helping
people.”
For more information about The Northern Hub for Veterans and Military Families Research visit https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/business-services/engage-with-us/the-northern-hub-for-military-veterans-and-families-research/
