A GROUND-BREAKING partnership to look after the mental welfare of military veterans has been set up in Colchester.

The North Essex Veterans Mental Health Network was launched yesterday at the Weston Homes Community Stadium and is the first in the country.

Its aim is to help diagnose mental health problems brought on during Army service among veterans and serving soldiers.

It was created by Colchester Garrison’s Department of Community Mental Health, North Essex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and the charity Combat Stress.

Consultant psychiatrist Lt Col (Retd) Mike Srinivasan came up with the idea earlier this year after he became “annoyed” local soldiers were not getting the care they needed.

He said: “It was a patient of mine who we referred to the local NHS team and he wasn’t seen, whereas we were seeing him every week.

“From the NHS point of view, he wasn’t a priority unless he was in crisis. It worried me quite a lot.”

The new services have taken eight months to set up and will involve the three partners educating one another about recognising mental health issues in soldiers and how best to treat them.

It is hoped the new scheme will be used as a pilot before being rolled out across the rest of Essex, and hopefully the UK.

Lt Col Srinivasan said: “If we have a soldier who goes to see an NHS therapist and he says he has been blown up by an IED, and they reply ‘what’s that?’, then you have already lost them.

“Veterans are very reluctant to come forward.

“They are a proud group of people, so it’s important we give them the best help possible when they do approach us.”

Walter Busuttil, director of medical services for Combat Stress, said the new service would allow soldiers and veterans from the Colchester area to receive the help they needed.

He added: “It is for those people who have changed while they have been on service.

“Around only three per cent of soldiers and veterans are sent to us from GPs, so it’s also clearly about educating and being there for these people.”