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Widow of suicide veteran tells minister to "get a grip" on mental health crisis

Jo Jukes at her Birmingham home where found her husband David, a former serviceman, on October 9  - Andrew Fox
Jo Jukes at her Birmingham home where found her husband David, a former serviceman, on October 9 - Andrew Fox

The widow of a military veteran who killed himself after suffering from PTSD has written to the Government demanding it tackle the “growing mental health crisis” among former servicemen and women.

Dave Jukes had battled for years with acute depression triggered by service in Afghanistan, Iraq and Bosnia.

Despite the former lance corporal writing to specialist NHS veterans’ mental health services last month warning he was “getting worse” and needed “to be put away” or he would kill himself he was never sectioned. He killed himself three weeks later at his Birmingham home on October 9.

The 49-year-old former infantryman is believed to be the 48th former or serving serviceman or woman to take their own lives this year.

Dave Jukes, who killed himself after suffering years of PTSD - Credit: Andrew Fox
Dave Jukes, who killed himself after suffering years of PTSD Credit: Andrew Fox

His wife, Jo Jukes, 47, has written to Jackie Doyle-Price, the new suicide prevention minister, urging her to address the failings in mental health services for veterans.

Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph, she said: “My husband was asked to serve his country but was then abandoned and repeatedly let down by mental health agencies. How many times does someone need to ask to be sectioned before something is done?

“I don’t think the NHS understands the symptoms of combat PTSD, which can result in them appearing resistant to treatment, at times due to their ingrained military persona which can appear aggressive and erratic.”

Her letter catalogues how she and her two daughters struggled to cope with a “Jekyll and Hyde” character suffering nightmares, paranoid episodes and who could be potentially violent or withdrawn.

She wrote “it is absurd that we as a society can create killers and then dump them without the correct support.”

Jackie Doyle-Price who has been appointed the world's first Minister for Suicide Prevention in a bid to cut the number of people taking their own lives - Credit: PA/Conservative Party
Jackie Doyle-Price who has been appointed the world's first Minister for Suicide Prevention in a bid to cut the number of people taking their own lives Credit: PA/Conservative Party

Listing her repeated failed attempts to get him sectioned, she adds: “All such failures have directly led to David ending his life in abject despair which has now destroyed a family.”

She warned how the mental health “crisis” facing veterans was out of control, adding: “It is the prime responsibility of the Government to get its act together and get a grip on this and lead from the front.”

The Sunday Telegraph can reveal that three weeks before his suicide, Mr Jukes, who joined the Army in 1991, wrote to the NHS’s Veterans’ Mental Health Transition, Intervention and Liaison Service (TILS) saying: “I seem to be getting worse and it’s starting to worry me… I think I need to be put away for a time before I lose it and do something I don’t mean to.

“And it will give the ones I love a break… I’ve never had to fight myself this much before and it’s hurting me. All I want to do is never wake up and let them be happy.”

Campaigners claim some soldiers who served in British campaign in the Middle East are suffering PTSD as veterans - Credit: MAR SOBHANI/Reuters
Campaigners claim some soldiers who served in British campaign in the Middle East are suffering PTSD as veterans Credit: MAR SOBHANI/Reuters

When Mrs Dukes followed up that email because her husband was clearly suicidal she was advised by the unit to call 111, an NHS line for non-threatening emergencies.

A spokeswoman for Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust which runs the TILS service assigned to Mr Jukes said it will “investigate all of the circumstances surrounding his death.”

While Mr Jukes accepts her husband was “very difficult” for medics, police, and veterans’ associations to cope with, his problems stemmed from feelings of guilt and memories from his service.

“He told me he felt guilty about what he had done, what he had seen and what haunted him. When ill he was not the man I married eight years ago,” she added.

Jo and Dave Jukes were married for eight years before his death in October 2018 - Credit:  Andrew Fox
Jo and Dave Jukes were married for eight years before his death in October 2018 Credit: Andrew Fox

Stephen James, of All Call Signs which helps veterans experiencing mental issues, said they were dealing with similar cases “time and time again”.

“We are fearful of further loss of life. The mental health services available to veterans are so fragmented and difficult to navigate that it’s almost impossible to know where to turn in a crisis.

“Until the government takes responsibility and provides a single point of contact for veterans seeking help, we’re going to keep losing our nation’s heroes to hidden wounds.”

Dave and Jo Jukes on their wedding day - Credit: Andrew Fox
Dave and Jo Jukes on their wedding day Credit: Andrew Fox

Mrs Jukes and All Call Signs want the Government to make coroners record the numbers of veterans who kill themselves to monitor the scale of the problem.

A Department of Health spokeswoman said since 2010 the Government had provided an extra £22.5 million to treat mental and physical health needs of veterans, with an extra £9 million injected for early treatment.