150 UK citizens receiving mental health treatment following terror attacks

According to a report by BBC Newsbeat, 150 UK citizens are currently receiving mental health treatment on the NHS after surviving terrorist attacks abroad. The number covers attacks which took place over the last two years, including the attacks in Paris, Brussels and Tunisa. Public Health England (PHE) has also recommended that another 21 people should be treated for conditions including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. However, the report outlined that in some cases, effects citizens who were caught up in such attacks were having difficult accessing services because they were not aware that help was available via the government. A spokesman for the Department of Health commented: “British citizens caught up in events like these should always have access to the best physical and mental health support.” According to figures more than 500 families of individuals who have been caught up in terrorist attacks have been contacted by the government. Data also showed that the government has paid out compensation to 67 victims of overseas terrorist attacks, since 2012. Numbers from the Ministry of Justice show that £549,000 was paid out in the year 2015-16, a significant increase on the previous year’s figure of £11,000.