Our Trust is celebrating being awarded the Veteran Aware accreditation.
We have joined others across the country in being accredited by the Veterans Covenant Hospital Alliance (VCHA) to lead the way in improving NHS care for veterans and members of the armed forces community.
Our organisation will now start to provide training for staff to be aware of veterans’ specific needs, making past and present servicemen and women aware of appropriate charities or NHS services beneficial to them, such as mental health services or support with financial and/or benefit claims.
It will also ensure that the armed forces community is never disadvantaged compared to other patients, which is in line with the NHS’s commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant.
Medical Director, Mr Steve Parker, said:
“The Veteran Aware scheme is a fantastic initiative that will ensure the particular needs of the Armed Forces community are at the heart of their care. We are very excited and proud to have received Veteran Aware accreditation at Isle of Wight NHS Trust, it’s really good news for us and for the 14,000 veterans across our Island community.
“As an ex-serviceman I’m well aware of the importance of supporting veterans and reservists and our aim is to make the Trust a centre of excellence in their care and support. People who have served in the armed forces can often have specific and varied needs and we must do everything we can to ensure the NHS continues to support them.”
To achieve the accreditation we had to demonstrate and meet a number of criteria, including; train and educate staff in veterans’ needs, establish links to appropriate nearby veteran services, identify veterans to ensure they receive appropriate care and raise awareness of veterans.
Following on from the accreditation our Trust will continue to work in partnership with other services in the area that patients can be referred to for further support.
As a Veteran Aware accredited organisation we will display posters in our clinics and public waiting areas urging anyone who has served in the armed forces to make themselves known to our staff.
