MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Falklands Veterans' Condemn Court Judgment.
The Falklands veterans' South Atlantic Medal Association have criticised the High Court judgment rejecting allegations that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) failed to provide adequate care for service personnel suffering from the effects as the horrors of war in the Falklands War and other conflicts.
The British Falklands veterans' statement says: "SAMA 82 are disappointed with this judgement and sympathise with all those who now feel once again 'let down' by the country they fought for and proudly served.
Not one of us complained about doing the jobs we volunteered for in peacetime and conflict. We are all proud of the huge benefits and peace derived from the sacrifices of countless comrades that went before us, with us and after us.
The very least we expect is to be treated with human dignity and respect when we ask for help in dealing with the scars of war, be they in body or mind. "Inadequate care" for war stress SAMA continued: " We as veterans already know beyond all doubt that reasonable care was almost non existent in dealing with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the early 1980's for serving HM Forces. It hardly exists even now, for ex-forces in the UK in the 21st Century suffering with PTSD who are unable to obtain proper care from a wholly inadequate NHS and having to rely on scarce treatment from an under-funded forces charity ?Combat Stress'.
"The case for the Claimants were never 'compensation' driven, indeed, the case was meant to prove that there were serious areas of negligence in the before, during, and after care of individuals suffering from the stress and horrors of war and combat. It is not all bad news as there will be an appeal against this judgement and individuals can still pursue their claims based on individual merits". Lawyers' "dismay" and "disappointment" The solicitors acting for the veterans also put out a statement expressing "dismay" and "disappointment" at the judgment. They said that the claimants volunteered for a life that they knew might mean combat and conflict, and exposure to the shocking events of war. They willingly accepted the risks of their service; but they relied on the MoD to care for them properly.
The solicitors' statement continued: "The Court in this judgment accepts the reality and severity of the psychological injuries of war. But the result of the trial means that only a fraction of the soldiers, sailors and airmen we represent will be able to recover compensation. Many will not?.While the judge found there was effective treatment available during almost all of the period covered by this litigation, he did not find that the MoD had a duty to identify sufferers, so as to be able to treat them. We are very disappointed by these findings.
The clear implication is that the onus was on the individual to make known their own suffering, even where they were untrained and ignorant of the nature and cause of their problems.
"We are also dismayed by the findings as to what the MoD actually knew - and what they should have known - about the long-term psychological consequences of war, which often do not surface until long after the shooting has stopped. These consequences include Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression and anxiety, often accompanied by alcohol abuse, unemployment, family break-up, offending, homelessness and even suicide.
Relieving military of responsibility "We believe that much of the evidence in the case, and in the documents we analysed, show that long term consequences have been known about for many years. We believe it was also shown that the state of British military psychiatry was woeful during the 1970s and unsatisfactory in the 1980s and 1990s. That has been reflected in the judgment only on some specific points, where the judge has found the MoD were in breach of their duty of care to the men. Those points are important, but not nearly wide enough.
"The judge ?showed great kindness to many distressed witnesses who still suffer in their minds from the effects of war or terrorist action. We are grateful to him for that. But we cannot accept that some of his most important findings as to what the military should have known and should have done are correct. Taken together, we believe these findings have the effect of relieving the military of responsibilities it is their duty to bear. We are therefore considering an appeal. Future focus on "mental scars of war"
"This case was always about much more than simply compensation for affected individuals. From the outset, it was the Claimants' intention to bring the mental scars of war into the open and onto the public agenda. They wanted to try and ensure that future generations of service personnel will not have these problems ignored or sidelined, as in the past. Here we believe the case has succeeded and will succeed in focussing attention on this suffering, as never before.
"British Forces are severely overstretched and under-resourced. Within the past two years alone, they have been deployed abroad in substantial campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq. Some of the servicemen and women involved will have returned with psychological injuries which may not surface for some time ? quite often for years. The public must realise this is not a fanciful notion but reality. On the MoD's own figures, and depending on the nature of the campaign, between 5 and 40% of all casualties are psychiatric casualties. It is imperative that the military establishment and the government take this problem seriously now, and look out for these victims who have served their country and suffered for it. In the light of the judgment, they have a clear obligation to treat them and support them adequately, whether or not they remain in the forces. We do not want to be in court in another ten years, making the same arguments for another generation, as we have made for those who fought and suffered in the Falklands, Northern Ireland, the First Gulf War and Bosnia"
Harold Briley, (MP)London.
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