As Remembrance Day nears, veterans find their funding cut - Susan Dalgety

The service has helped 2500 veterans over the last 15 years. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Veterans First Point Lothian, which is jointly funded by the Scottish Government and NHS Lothian, has provided support to over 2500 veterans in recent years.

Men and women who have served their country, often risking their lives but who, for whatever reason, struggle to adjust to life as a civilian.

According to the Veterans First Point (V1P) national website, nearly one-third of veterans who use its services live in Scotland’s most deprived areas, and an astonishing 37 per cent have experienced homelessness at some time in their lives.

Yet NHS Lothian has decided to cut one of the most important lifelines for veterans in this region.

The cut comes as NHS Lothian is forced to make savings of seven per cent across all its departments.

“It’s a stark reminder of the extremely difficult choice that we are facing every day as we balance the need to provide safe and effective healthcare while meeting the severe financial pressures facing health boards…” explained Tracey McKigen, director of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital.

I am sure that Ms McKigen and her colleagues agonised over whether or not to end their financial support for veterans.

The Scottish Government will continue to fund a portion of the service, leaving NHS Lothian to decide what level of support it can offer existing clients, but there will be no new referrals accepted. Veterans in need of assistance are urged to contact their GP or NHS 24 on 111.

There are six one-stop shops in Scotland’s V1P network, all provided as part of the NHS, and staffed by a team of clinicians and veterans, people who understand the emotional toll of serving your country, particularly during a time of conflict.

But even during peace time, veterans can suffer a myriad of emotional, financial and physical challenges. Many struggle to find work when they leave the military or have poor mental health, with depression and PTSD common.

On Remembrance Day, as the Royal British Legion notes, we unite across “faiths, cultures and backgrounds to remember the service and sacrifice of the Armed Forces community”.

It is not the glorification of war, rather taking time to say thank you to those who defend our freedom and way of life, whether it is the millions slaughtered in the poppy fields of the First World War, the young men who gave up their lives in the Battle of Britian to defend our island nation, or the men and women who, in recent years, served in Northern Ireland, Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

No-one underestimates the challenges facing our NHS as its bosses struggle to make ends meet, but shutting the door on men and women who have been willing to risk their lives to protect the rest of us is surely the wrong decision.

There must be a better way to save £215,000 from NHS Lothian’s annual budget of £1.6 billion than sacrificing the well-being of our veterans.

We owe them too much to abandon them in their hour of need.