A new study into the suicides of military veterans has found that much more mental health support is needed for those in the armed services. The research, conducted by Northumbria University's Northern Hub for Veterans and Military Families Research, involved interviews with hundreds of families and concluded that an urgent review of mental health services for veterans is required.
Kingsman Ben Riches, 30, took his own life in 2019 after struggling with mental health issues following his service in Iraq and Afghanistan. His parents, Carolyn and Kev Riches from Garstang, Lancashire, said he changed after his tours, exhibiting unusual behaviour including sleepwalking and washing his hands compulsively, saying 'I've got to wash the blood off my hands'. They reported that his drinking increased and that he became aggressive, but they felt this masked his vulnerability.
The study highlighted a lack of communication between organisations and families, with project leader Dr Paul Watson stating: 'There is no kind of joined up working in terms of how we support a person to navigate the system.' The Riches family said they had sought help from senior officers at Catterick but were told nothing could be done unless Ben asked for help himself, which was unlikely due to the stigma surrounding mental health in the military.
The government said it would review the research and continue to work to ensure veterans can access the right support, referencing a new five-year Suicide Prevention Strategy for England published in 2023. The study's aim was not to apportion blame but to find out why veterans were slipping through the net and to create a 'safety blanket' to protect them.
