NHS says charity cuts will affect referrals
The NHS said that plans to ditch residential treatment for veterans with mental health issues could double the amount of patients seen each year.
Instead of staying at the Combat Stress Treatment Centre at Audley Court, Newport, for six weeks to help them heal, veterans will instead make use of technology such as Skype to receive remote treatment under the new plans.
It is hoped the change in focus could help 448 patients per year nationally, rather than the 224 currently being treated by Combat Stress.
But veterans say the residential treatment was key to their recovery and, without it, lives could be lost.
Councillor Eric Carter, of Telford & Wrekin Council, has been in contact with the NHS and Combat Stress itself, and called for a dialogue.
It comes as veterans continue to issue a rallying call to residents to help save the Audley Court Combat Stress Centre in Newport.
Armed Forces senior support manager, Christopher Williams, said: "The new NHS veterans' mental health complex treatment service will provide an enhanced service for veterans who have military attributable complex mental health problems, many of whom will have experienced trauma, which have not been resolved earlier in the care or support pathway and will increase.
"The aspirational patient pathways total is 448 patients per annum, in comparison to the NHS England funded Combat Stress service, which currently treats 224 patients per annum through its intensive treatment programme."
Councillor Carter said: "More needs to be done than protest. We need a dialogue. I'm trying to find alternative funding to assist."
Veterans marched through Newport last month in protest to the cut of residential treatment at Audley Court.
They will march again on December 1 as part of a planned sit-in at the Audley Avenue site.
They are inviting residents to march with them from Shuker Fields to Audley Court from 12pm.
Organiser, Pete Neale, said: "A lot of us have been around Newport and the way we've been treated by people in the town has always been fantastic. There's never been any hostility towards us.
"The more people join the march, the more it shows the government that the public are behind veterans.
"Britain supports its veterans, and that's why we want people in Newport to come out."
