DEFENCE minister Tobias Ellwood has said veterans are being cut adrift from mental health support due to an NHS postcode lottery.

Speaking at a new £300 million rehabilitation centre at Stanford Hall in Loughborough on Tuesday, the Bournemouth East MP said concerns about the mental health of veterans had been raised at the Veterans Board to make sure they are "getting the support they need".

Mr Ellwood said he hoped the spending review will not solely focus on having "more ships, tanks and aeroplanes" and would also look at the welfare of past military personnel.

Miriam Duffy, director of operations at Nottingham University Hospitals, agreed and added there was a "degree of postcode lottery in all NHS services".

The issue of support for veterans had been raised by the charity Help for Heroes, which said many felt "let down" by being excluded from the treatment on offer at the rehabilitation centre.

Mr Ellwood said: "The responsibility for veterans' mental health is with the National Health Service. They do that, not the MoD itself.

"Each region now has its own Tils programme: trauma, intervention, liaison, service.

"These are programmes where veterans can come through and get the support they need, and if they require further complex treatment, we have complex treatment centres as well.

"The implication that there are different standards across the country is a concern that I have and that's why we raised this at the Veterans Board, to make sure that if somebody served our armed forces... we make sure they are getting the support that they need.

"It cannot be that it changes across the country, or indeed in different parts of the nations, in Scotland, Wales and so forth.

"That's where the Veterans Board across Whitehall committee... is able to point the finger to say, 'local government, are you providing the necessary housing for our homeless veterans?' Health service, are you making sure that Colchester is the same as London in providing mental health support?

"We're getting far better at providing support for mental health but as more people put their hand up, veterans as well as armed forces, those numbers will go up.

"So, as we look to the spending review, I hope it won't all be about, 'let's have more ships, tanks and aeroplanes', but also about looking after the welfare of our people."