A MILITARY mental health unit based in a Basingstoke hospital is now the UK’s busiest.

Since opening in January, the specialist unit at Parklands hospital, in Aldermaston Road, has been at full capacity, caring for about 80 seriously-ill personnel.

Many of those requiring treatment have served in war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This week the unit was visited by Surgeon General Lieutenant General Louis Lillywhite, the UK’s top military medic. He told reporters: “We have been praised for the quality of care for physically injured soldiers in Selly Oak hospital and believe in providing the equivalent for mental healthcare.”

Lt Gen Lillywhite said alcohol abuse and difficulty adjusting after being in a war zone were common reasons for servicemen being admitted. Only five per cent suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome, he said. The average length of stay in the secure unit is between two and three weeks.

Hampshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust took on the military contract as part of a network involving seven NHS trusts in England and Scotland.It is the first time the NHS has taken on military psychiatric patients.

The Parklands unit offers beds within four hours to those in need at Ministry of Defence (MoD) bases in Aldershot, Tidworth, Portsmouth as well as Woolwich and Brize Norton.

Lt Gen Lillywhite claimed Britain was leading the way in preventing, as well as treating, serious mental illness among troops.

Servicemen returning from Afghanistan now spend a 24 to 36 hour “decompression” period in Cyprus where they can discuss what they have been through.

He said: “It provides the next step from the operational environment, with high-intensity danger, to the home environment.”

Clare Fanning, service liaison officer and a military community psychiatric nurse, said only the most ill were referred from bases to the Parklands unit.

She said: “Most are those at risk who cannot be managed in the community due to stress or welfare issues.”

To cope with a high demand, the unit increased capacity in May from four beds to six.

Dr Paul Warren, associated medical director at Parklands hospital, said: “We have been fairly busy – demand has been greater than originally expected.”

But he said the work only enhanced what the hospital had to offer and did not compromise the care it offered to the local community.