A collaboration with The Ripple Pond, a charity providing peer support to the partners and families of veterans

Solent NHS Trust is collaborating with The Ripple Pond, a charity providing peer support to the partners and families of veterans suffering with poor mental health. Raising awareness of the new Hampshire and Isle of Wight veterans’ mental health High Intensity Service and dedicated NHS 111 support, The Ripple Pond believe the service will help provide vital relief from the trauma and poor mental health, which is so often exacerbated over the Christmas period.

Cindy found The Ripple Pond at a time when conventional mental health services were not equipped to help her and her husband, both of whom were veterans. Talking about her experience, she said “I stumbled upon The Ripple Pond at a time when I desperately needed help and support living with my husband with PTSD. His illness had got so bad that I was at the end of my tether, trying to juggle being a good mum and keeping myself healthy so that I could be the supportive wife too. It’s pretty much impossible to do all of this unless you are Wonderwoman.

Suffering from anxiety which yes, is attributable to my husband’s illness, has made life difficult. I firmly believe that when any service person is diagnosed with PTSD, the whole family should be offered help, not left to fend for themselves when they may not even know where to start. As a veteran myself and the spouse of a service person who has been wounded in service, it felt like there was nothing put in place to offer us help, I had to seek help and support on my own.

Now that you can self-refer or, with their permission, refer a veteran in crisis to the NHS 111 service and the Hampshire and Isle of Wight High Intensity Service, I feel people will not be left to fend for themselves. We know that Christmas, whilst a wonderful time for many, does see an increase in problems relating to ill health, including domestic violence, an increase in alcohol consumption and gambling. Just being able to reach out in a crisis to a mental health peer support worker who can help you within a few hours is incredible.

I am also extremely grateful to The Ripple Pond, who are always there to support families and carers of veterans, I can’t recommend enough reaching out to them for support if you need it. I am grateful daily that I made that phone call.”

For more information visit https://www.solent.nhs.uk/our-services/services-listings/veterans-mental-health-high-intensity-service-his/

In an emergency call 999. In a crisis call NHS 111 and tell us you are a veteran.