Post: Coroner’s warning after veteran’s PTSD death

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Aeran Taylor was discharged from the army for substance misuse in 2006 after six-months in Iraq Christian Fuller

BBC News, South East Published4 February 2025

A coroner has warned that a community of former soldiers is at risk after an Iraq war veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) died from an accidental overdose.

Aeran Taylor was discharged from the army for substance misuse in 2006 after six months in Iraq.

Despite working with a veterans’ mental health charity, the 38-year-old had not fully recovered from PTSD and relapsed into addiction before he was found dead at his home in Crawley, West Sussex, in October 2023, coroner Joseph Turner said.

The coroner said similar deaths might occur if appropriate rehabilitation was not made accessible after soldiers were discharged from the army.

Mr Taylor had received compensation from the Ministry of Defence (MOD), and had been engaging with his GP as well as charity Combat Stress.

In a video he filmed with the charity in 2019, the former Royal Regiment of Fusiliers soldier said he was "really quite lost" when he left the military.

"I managed to hold down a job, but even that got too stressful for me. I was depressed, I just locked myself away completely," he said."I wouldn’t leave my flat for about six months, I wouldn’t answer the door, I was scared if my phone rang." ‘Deaths could occur’ Outlining his concerns in a Prevention of Future Deaths report, Mr Turner said there appeared to have been no clinical assessment of Mr Taylor’s mental health when he was discharged."There appears to remain a lack of readily available, fully-funded, long-term rehabilitation and substance abuse recovery for veterans with PTSD, notably for those only diagnosed well after leaving the armed forces," he said."In my opinion, there is a risk that future deaths could occur unless action is taken." If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this story, support and advice is available via BBC Action Line Chloe Mackay, chief executive of Combat Stress, said the charity was "gravely concerned" by the coroner’s findings, […]

Coroner’s warning after veteran’s PTSD death