ABSTRACT
Hosted by Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust (PCFT), based in Greater Manchester, the Military Veterans Service (MVS) has been providing dedicated, targeted and tailored evidence-based therapies to ex-service personnel who present with complex and chronic mental health issues since 2011. This chapter outlines the journey from its inception to becoming one of the most highly regarded, award-winning, dedicated National Health Service (NHS) psychological treatment services for military veterans and their families in the UK. It describes some of the contextual backdrop of the North West, some features of the MVS model and information about its service users. In January 2010, a specially established Clinical Steering group reviewed the needs of ex-service personnel across the north west of England with support from the North West Strategic Health Authority (SHA). Following the consultation process, and with support from the North West Strategic Health Authority, the service was initially established as an extension of the National Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme (IAPT).
