Meeting The Needs of Veterans With Musculoskeletal Disorders
/At Forward Assist and Salute Her UK we strive to deliver services that are needs led and person centred and to do that we have regular consultation sessions with all those that access our service. In recent years there has been considerable emphasis on the invisible wounds of war, be that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Adjustment disorder, transition difficulties and/or problems trying to assimilate to the civilian community when service life ends. Yet, the data suggests that for all three services, the main causes of medical discharges were Musculoskeletal Disorders and Injuries followed by Mental and Behavioural Disorders.
According to the MoD this was in line with findings from the previous years when 2 in 5 personnel (42%) were medically discharged as a result of multiple medical conditions. Many service personnel people develop joint and soft tissues disorders ranging from minor injuries to long-term conditions. Long-term conditions include osteoarthritis in knees, hips, shoulders, ankle and foot injuries including associated back pain. The key co-morbidity risk factors for this veteran cohort include loneliness and isolation, obesity, poor mental health, inactivity and further injury due to trips and falls. The impact on family and carers cannot be underestimated and for many, it becomes almost impossible to maintain relationships and/or employment.
When one takes into consideration that the Government plan to extend the retirement entitlement age to 69 years at some point in the future, it’s very clear that many will be economically inactive well before that age due to both mental and physical disabilities related to service life.
Instead of throwing millions of pounds at the mental health issues let’s use the data to develop services for the silent majority. We need to look at a quality of life model which includes social support and help with resilience, pain management and the development of coping skills and resources for persons recovering from injury and those that care for them. For many a return to work will not be a viable option. Family breakdown has a negative impact on all parties involved and access to suitable housing for those with musculoskeletal disorders is already limited if none existent.
As someone on a waiting list for bi-lateral knee replacement the system does not appear to working as many, including me have been waiting over 12 months or more for surgery and in my case no one can tell me where I am on the waiting list which would indicate that there isn’t one!
The C-19 pandemic notwithstanding and its obvious impact on NHS staffing (bless em!) it would appear that the NHS are unable to address the extended waiting list conundrum, never mind deal with the predicted 15 million that need to access counselling for unresolved bereavement issues, moral injury, depression and anxiety. Much of the work of Forward Assist and Salute Her UK is directed towards supporting those men and women with severe musculoskeletal injuries (joint and muscles) and the multi-faceted symptoms common to mental health disorders, such as unresolved trauma, distress, anxiety/depression, sleeping disturbance, adverse alcohol & drug misuse, smoking, adverse nutrition behaviour all of which is compounded by a lack of community connection. We actively encourage Occupational Therapy students to spend time on placement with the team and their input and expertise is invaluble in supporting this particular group of underserved veterans.
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