MORE can be done to meet the health needs of ex-servicemen and women, war veterans have told healthcare bosses.

A small group of former military personnel from across all three Armed Forces gathered at the NHS Swindon headquarters, in the Orbital Shopping Park, at the weekend to air their views on the standard of healthcare their community receives.

Organised by the Primary Care Trust (PCT), about 22 people attended the event.

It was held in response to new Government plans to boost services for ex-personnel and aimed to draw on veterans’ experiences and allow them to shape the health agenda.

While there are no definitive figures, the ex-military community in Swindon and nearby areas is thought to number tens of thousands, including Gurkhas and Polish settlers.

Among the suggestions were for services already available to be better highlighted to patients and for a greater awareness of veteran-specific issues among GPs.

Hugh Thompson, welfare officer for the Swindon branch of the Royal Air Force Association, said: “The event was about helping the PCT understand the needs of veterans.

“Public services are under financial pressure, but everybody needs support based on them as an individual and budget constraints should not be a consideration.”

John Wyatt, 80, of Stratton, who served with the 5th Royal Tank Regiment in Germany in the 1950s, said the PCT needed to raise awareness of services already available for veterans.

He added: “There is a real need for more awareness because they don’t tell us things we should know. The meeting was informative and I learned a few things.”

Tracey Compson, lead service development manager for NHS Swindon, said the authority recognised the large ex-military population and the need to engage with them.

Mrs Compson, whose son and daughter both serve with the Army, said: “There is a big military community around here and this was a chance for people to be part of a ground-breaking project in Swindon to help shape appropriate services for our military veterans. We have never done this with this group before.

“We value our veterans and want to ensure the services being provided are right for them, so it was really important to get their views and ideas.

“The Government have put veterans very high on the agenda and the NHS have to ensure they are providing the appropriate service. This is about raising awareness among GPs and healthcare providers.

“Specific illnesses could be related to their time in service and mental health issues do not always show straight away – sometimes 30 to 40 years later.

“We know that when they come out of a fighting zone the incidence of mental illness is low because the military are very good now at dealing with that.

“What we don’t know is the real issue – when people present themselves to different agencies decades later with illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder.”