Women-only mental health service opens for veterans

An online support service for female military veterans "struggling to come forward" has been started for the East of England.

The Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) is organising the sessions after identifying a gap in care.

The service will focus on providing peer support and will offer a safe space to discuss sexual assault and harassment within the armed forces.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson, said: "The Office for Veterans' Affairs is committed to ensuring that female veterans get access to the support and opportunities they need and deserve and we're working closely with the NHS on mental health support."

The service will also provide support with managing mental health conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety.

Clinical nurse specialist Vicki Bailey works for the NHS mental health trust's Veterans Integrated Service and identified the need while studying at Anglia Ruskin University.

"There wasn't any research around the barriers female veterans face when accessing mental health services and that ignited a passion to offer something bespoke," she said.

Some 25 female veterans have signed up so far to join online monthly meetings.

RAF veteran Mandy Small, from Rendlesham in Suffolk, served in the RAF as a dog handler.

She did two tours of Iraq where she was injured in a mortar blast which knocked her out of an observation tower on to the concrete below.

She said she had experienced mental health issues and had had support from the NSFT and was part of the new group.

"It's important for everyone, whether male or female, to have a safe space -somewhere that they feel comfortable enough to be able to open up," she said.

"I hope these new drop-ins will encourage more people who are struggling to come forward, so they realise they are not alone going through their issues."

Ms Small said the prevalence of sexual assault within the armed forces was a barrier to women taking part in support services for veterans.

She said: "So many people are still living with the trauma of this, and they have only just been given a voice.

"Women-only groups are so important as people don't always feel confident enough to discuss this in front of men."

The NSFT provides NHS mental health services across Norfolk and Suffolk, but its new service is available to veterans across the wider Eastern region including Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Essex and Hertfordshire.

Veterans can register for the new service via the NSFT website.

The plan is to expand the service in the autumn for members who have a mental health issue and need more clinical support.

A range of support services for people with mental health and other issues is listed on the BBC Action Line pages.

Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.