Dusty Wentworth

Standfirst: A military veteran with complex, fluctuating conditions exposes how the Labour Government’s Universal Credit cuts, PIP changes, and failing NHS services are dismantling the financial and physical independence of even the most severely disabled citizens. My Fight for Care: A Veteran’s Battle with a Broken NHS I served my country — now I’m fighting for basic care. Getting a GP appointment shouldn’t require an MP, a charity, and months of chasing. But for me, a veteran living with combat-related PTSD, fibromyalgia, functional neurological disorder (FND) and a brain injury from a subarachnoid haemorrhage, it did. These conditions cause tremors, muscle spasms, seizures and cognitive impairment — and that’s just some of my symptoms. Across my diagnoses there are many more. Worse, they interact: when one flares, it can trigger or worsen the others. That cross-play creates an incredibly complex, unpredictable condition that the current benefits and healthcare systems si...