The NHS in collaboration with the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) is working towards approving NHS GP practices in England as veteran-friendly accredited. To date, in excess of 1000 practices are now veteran-friendly accredited, accounting for 14% of all practices in England.
We at the Atherstone Surgery are proud to be veteran friendly accredited and keen to support our Armed Forces community. This means we have a dedicated Clinician who has a specialist knowledge of service-related health conditions and veteran specific health services. This is important in helping Veterans to get the best care and treatment. The established veteran health clinical lead for our PCN is Luke Sadler our Health and Wellbeing Coach.
What does the Veteran Friendly Accreditation mean?
Being accredited means that a practice can better identify and treat veterans, refer them, where appropriate, to dedicated NHS services (such as the Veterans’ Mental Health Transition, Intervention and Liaison service (TILS), the Veterans’ Mental Health Complex Treatment Service (CTS) and the Veterans Trauma Network). It also means that the NHS is better able to meet the health commitments of the Armed Forces Covenant, whereby the Armed Forces community, including veterans, should face no disadvantage in accessing health services and should receive priority care for military attributable conditions, subject to clinical need. Read the patient charter for veterans here (PDF, 167KB).
Whilst many aspects of the health needs of veterans are the same as for the general public, there are sometimes significant differences, particularly in relation to conditions attributable to service life and the associated impact for individuals and their families. These differences can be reflected in the way in which healthcare is delivered, the range and types of some specific services provided and the long-term impact upon patients and families.
To read more about the personalised care available for veterans and their families please click on the link below.
For some top tips for veterans and how they can get the most from their GP please click on the link below.
Who is a Veteran?
A veteran is anyone who has served a day or more in the UK Armed Forces, whether as a regular or reservist and can be of any age, gender, sexuality, ethnicity and nationality. There are 1.74 million in England and research shows that many may be silently struggling with physical or mental health problems as they worry that they won’t be understood by civilian health and care professionals.
The nation regards its veterans highly and they are recognised by NHS England as a ‘special group’ within the general population. NHS England seeks to ensure that veterans are always considered when commissioning services.
All military veterans are entitled to priority access to NHS care (including hospital, primary or community care) for conditions associated to their time within the armed forces. However, this is always subject to clinical need and does not entitle you to jump the queue ahead of someone with a higher clinical need.
An ID card for armed forces veterans is being issued to help access specialist support and services. These cards will allow veterans to maintain a tangible link to their career in the forces.
For more information, please see Veterans’ Gateway.
If you are ex forces or a member of your family is, please let your us know so that we can help ensure you are getting the best possible care. If you would like to inform us of your veteran status, please click on the link below.
Veteran Status Form
You may be worried about sharing information about your time in the Armed Forces. Please note that the NHS is bound by a confidentiality code of practice to ensure GPs, nurses and other people working within the NHS deliver a confidential service bound by law.
As a Practice we have pledged to support our ex-military as best we can. We would like to encourage all our veterans to come forward and identify yourselves, so we can offer you enhanced support.
Please take a look at the links and flyers below for a selection or group meets, research programmes and projects involving veterans (and/or their families) that are available for your participation.