The UK must stop failing injured veterans by leaving them unprepared for life after service

Barry Griffiths, RAF veteran

Rob Marston, Service Director | Help for Heroes

3 min read02 October 2025 Partner content

Thousands of men and women are medically discharged from the armed forces every year through a broken system that leaves too many without the support they deserve. Urgent reform can put this right

Every year, around 2,000 men and women are discharged from the armed forces because of injury, illness, or a mental health condition. That’s an average of five people every single day.¹

Transitioning into civilian life can be tough for any veteran, but for those who are medically discharged, it often marks the start of a particularly challenging and under-supported journey.

At Help for Heroes, we have seen the human cost of this fragmented and inconsistent system for almost 20 years – one that leaves far too many veterans without the support they deserve.

Our new research shows that more than 40 per cent of medically discharged veterans felt unprepared for life after service.² These are people who have given years to their country, only to tell us they feel discarded through no fault of their own.

Mental health is now one of the leading causes of medical discharge.³ Yet many veterans leave service without a formal diagnosis or treatment in place. That gap can make it almost impossible to access NHS support or benefits, putting further stress on those already struggling.

Barrie Griffiths, who served more than 34 years in the RAF, knows this reality all too well. A spinal injury cut short his career.

“You go from being part of a team that achieves great things, to feeling unloved, expendable, on the scrapheap,” says Barrie.

“In the military, there’s always someone to ask. Outside, you’re in an alien world – and if you have an injury or poor mental health, it’s overwhelming.”

Barrie’s story is not unique. Many medically discharged veterans continue to face the same cliff edge. No medical records to pass on to doctors, long waits for compensation, and confusion about where to turn for housing or employment support.

Families are often left bearing the brunt, plugging gaps in care, picking up financial strain, and carrying the emotional weight of their loved one’s poorly managed transition.

Government initiatives such as Op COURAGE, Op RESTORE and the Defence Transition Service exist and are welcome, but they are not preventing a broken medical discharge process from leaving many veterans falling through the gaps.

The good news is this problem can be fixed.

Simple reforms such as standardising the process across the RAF, the army and the Royal Navy, guaranteed handovers to civilian support, and timely access to compensation and medical records would make a huge difference.

That is why Help for Heroes is calling on the government to commission an independent review of the medical discharge process, with lived experience at its heart.

This cannot wait. Global tensions are rising, defence spending is increasing, and the number of medically discharged personnel is only likely to grow. Unless the government acts fast, we risk repeating the mistakes of the past and failing the next generation of injured veterans.

Right now, the single most impactful step the government can take is to fix the medical discharge system, so no veteran falls through the gaps when leaving service.

To find out how the medical discharge system is failing veterans, read our report, Falling Through The Gaps.