Call for veteran support centre to become mental health 'hub' and help NHS heroes
A veteran support site now being used as a vaccination centre could have a future as a mental health "hub" supporting both veterans and health workers who have suffered through the coronavirus crisis, a councillor said.
A petition to "save" the Audley Court veterans’ mental health centre has gathered more than 1,100 in about two weeks.
The online petition, launched by Liberal Democrat Councillor Thomas Janke, says: "We the undersigned do hereby call on Telford & Wrekin Council and regional Shropshire/Midland MPs to help 'save Audley Court' and ensure that post-Covid-19 vaccination rollout, it is able to continue providing respite and outpatient care to veterans, NHS staff and care workers suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues, eventually serving the wider community as a mental health hub for the region."
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“I am so grateful for our local community’s huge response to the petition,” said Councillor Janke.
“The scale of the support for the campaign to save this vital facility simply cannot be ignored.”
The building, run by charity Combat Stress, is currently partially in use as a coronavirus vaccination centre, and also provides some remote online support for veterans.
Iraq veteran Councillor Janke has suggested that, with the right support, the centre could be a hub for agencies helping not only veterans, but others suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, including NHS and care workers after the pandemic.
“The demand for mental health provision for veterans remains high,” he said.
“And now added to this, we will have NHS and care workers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder following the coronavirus pandemic. There seems to me to be an opportunity to provide our NHS heroes with the care they deserve, too.”
Discussions
The petition remains live and can be found online at tinyurl.com/SaveAudleyCourt.
Responding to the petition, Combat Stress chiefs said they would welcome discussions with the NHS about how they could help frontline staff.
Jeff Harrison, interim chief executive, said: “Audley Court has remained in operation during the pandemic. Where it has been safe to do so, our staff have been working from the premises to deliver individual trauma-focused therapy to veterans over the phone and online.
"We hope to welcome veterans back to the hub later this year for outpatient treatment and support.
“Our work is focused on providing specialist services to veterans with complex mental health problems, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
"We would welcome the opportunity to discuss with the NHS how our clinical expertise in treating veterans for PTSD could be used to support their staff struggling with the trauma of working on the frontline of the pandemic.
“As a mental health charity, we are of course supportive of initiatives to improve community mental health services, although we are unaware of plans for a mental health hub.
"As we announced last year, we intend to move from Audley Court to a site in central England, which will enable us to best serve our veterans while managing limited resources and operating as sustainably as possible. This is a long-term process that will likely extend into next year.”
