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29 Aug, 2016

Record payouts to UK veterans with mental health disorders – The Independent

The number of serving and ex-forces personnel being awarded compensation for mental disorders has hit record levels, leading to fears that we are now starting to see the true cost of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars in the form of the mental scars left on those who had to fight them. Analysis of Armed Forces Compensation Scheme statistics by The Independent shows that the annual number of mental disorder pay-outs has increased by 379 per cent, from 121 in 2009-2010 to 580 in 2015-16, to reach the highest total in the 11 years the scheme has been running. The claims are not broken down by type of mental disorder or whether a claimant saw combat, but mental health professionals say the timing of the increase mirrors the expected time lag before Afghanistan and Iraq veterans start to experience symptoms and seek help.

Read the rest: Payouts to UK veterans with mental health disorders reach record levels | Home News | News | The Independent