What estimate has the Cabinet Secretary made of the number of a) male and b) female armed forces veterans inpatient or outpatient mental healthcare in each of the last five years?
The Welsh Government does not routinely collect this information. We do receive information on the numbers of veterans seen as outpatients within the Veterans NHS Wales service:
2012-13 329
2013-14 390
2014-15 542
2015-16 607
2016-17 633
However, this would not reflect the totality of those seen within all mental health services, such as specialist services, inpatient services, nor those who choose not to disclose their veteran status when presenting.
Equally we do not collect the detail of those veterans within mental health services with the specific diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Veterans NHS Wales service estimates that approximately 64% of veterans assessed by the service meet the criteria for PTSD.