On the eleventh day of the eleventh month it's worth reflecting on the health needs of Australia's war veterans.
It's well known that veterans have higher rates of both acute and chronic illness and require more treatment than the general population.
Many have been smokers and drinkers and many have psychiatric conditions as a direct result of their military service. So it is quite right that veterans and their dependents have a government department dedicated to their health and welfare support. Another feature of the veterans is that they are getting old and are experiencing an increasing number of age-related illnesses.
With so many veterans from WW2 now in their eight or ninth decade of life it's not surprising that one in four residents of nursing homes is a veteran. And because of their longevity, female veterans and female dependents now outnumber their male counterparts.
Figures from the Department of Veterans Affairs show that two thirds of veterans are over 75, and a substantial number are in their eighties or nineties. The reality is that the number of veterans is in decline due to ageing, and their numbers are expected to fall by half over the next decade from 185,000 to around 90,000 by 2020.
And it's not only the numbers that are changing - the department acknowledges that there is a different culture among the veterans of more recent conflicts such as Vietnam.
While the ex-services organisations have provided many of the support services for veterans from WW2, younger veterans have been less inclined to get involved with organisations such as the RSLs. That not only means less access to services, but also fewer volunteer helpers.
So is it the last post for veterans health services? It's certainly a time of change - and the government is conducting a review of their veteran services with this in mind.
