MENTAL HEALTH CARE FOR ARMED FORCES PERSONNEL

That this House congratulates South Staffordshire Shropshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust on securing the contract for the provision of in-patient mental health care for UK serving armed forces personnel; welcomes this extension by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of the range of healthcare services available to all personnel and is particularly pleased that consideration of people's mental health and well-being is receiving the attention it deserves; recognises that the contract adopts the trust's philosophy of providing clinically appropriate rapid assessment, stabilisation and return to care within the community as soon as possible; and notes that the trust can assure the MoD of locally-based care through a network consisting of a group of five foundation trusts, one trust in the process of a foundation trust application and one NHS Scotland Trust.