A unique report, looking at
the lives of limbless military veterans, has been launched by Northumbria
University, Newcastle, to help inform future health and social care policy for
an ageing veteran population.
The main aim of the study -
the first of its kind anywhere in the UK - was to explore the physical,
psychological and social needs of limbless veterans throughout their lives after
leaving the armed forces.
The
study, funded by the Aged Veterans Fund using Libor fines, used in-depth
narrative interviews with a number of veterans, aged between 43 and 95, across
the UK. The aim is to develop future service design and shape collaborative
work between NHS and third sector organisations with responsibility to care for
limbless veterans.
The study, led by the
University’s Northern Hub for Veterans and Military Families Research and
conducted in collaboration with Anglia Ruskin University, revealed that many of
the veterans interviewed were struggling against bodily decline, while striving
to maintain independence. They cited a deterioration in mobility and the
emergence of social isolation in their personal accounts of ageing and
limb-loss.
Persistent pain and
discomfort are common experiences for many veterans affected by limb-loss,
according to the study. Pain which is poorly managed may result in the
inability to engage in physical activity or to utilise prosthetics comfortably.
It could also lead to immobility, isolation within the home and a heavy
reliance upon others to meet basic needs.
Many veterans also reported
ongoing grief which they kept ‘bottled up’ post-amputation. Striving to be
‘normal’ in the aftermath of injury can be an important way for veterans to
cope, however, this may also mask a great deal of enduring personal anguish.
Inability to secure
post-injury employment also has a negative long-term impact upon veterans'
quality of life, resulting in the belief that the amputee is unattractive to
potential employers and is likely to be subject to ongoing disability
discrimination.
Some veterans spent more
time during their interviews talking in detail about their careers and other
achievements. It was clear there was a strong sense in which work – whether
continuing in military service or civilian work – helped participants to
normalise their amputations and to minimise the impact of limb-loss.
In response to these
interviews, the study calls for timely access to high quality healthcare
services, starting from the time of amputation and extending throughout
veterans’ lives.
Dr Matthew Kiernan,
Associate Professor of Mental Health and Veteran Studies at Northumbria
University and a former Lieutenant Commander in the Queen Alexandra’s Royal
Naval Nursing Service, said: “The aim of this research is to lay a foundation
so that limbless veterans can actually guide and direct us to what the problems
are. Importantly, the veterans themselves are telling us what we should be
looking at, what further research needs to be done and which policies need to
be developed.
“This study illustrates that
veterans who are affected by limb-loss require timely access to high quality
support and specialist healthcare services. Special attention must also be paid
to older veterans who suffered limb-loss before modern medical advances in
prosthetic devices and prosthetic care.
“We have found that a
holistic approach to pain management which includes a wide range of services is
essential in order to ensure that veterans receive the care and support they
need to maintain their independence and sense of self-worth following
limb-loss.”
Veterans described enduring significant
amounts of stump pain and phantom limb pain - pain that is localised in the
region of the removed body part – throughout the course of their lives.
The study also highlights
the growing care needs of limbless veterans as they get older. Participants described
the impact of age related physical decline and musculoskeletal conditions such
as arthritis and the way in which they compound the challenges associated with
limb loss.
Dr Nick Caddick
from the Veterans and Families Institute at Anglia Ruskin University, who led
the analysis of veterans’ narratives for this study, said: “Limb loss is a
progressive and deteriorating injury – it gets worse as veterans get older and
good limbs wear out from the extra strain. The stories from our veterans reveal
a mix of resilience and vulnerability in old age: resilience from old military
ways of adapting and coping and vulnerability to isolation and changes in
mobility.”
