Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust’s commitment to supporting Armed Forces veterans who now serve in the NHS workforce or who are looked after as patients, family members or visitors, has earned a ‘Veteran Aware’ accreditation
The trademark Veteran Aware tick is displayed at sites run by the trust across Derbyshire, including community hospitals, clinics and some primary care practices and the Trust’s headquarters at Ash Green Learning Disability Service at Ashgate, Chesterfield. Pictured is Jordana Wright, from the Trust’s staff network for the armed forces community, with one of the proudly displayed Veteran Aware signs.It means the trademark Veteran Aware tick is displayed at sites run by the trust across Derbyshire, including community hospitals, clinics and some primary care practices and the Trust’s headquarters at Ash Green Learning Disability Service at Ashgate, Chesterfield.
Pictured is Jordana Wright, from the Trust’s staff network for the armed forces community, with one of the proudly displayed Veteran Aware signs.
Jordana, advanced clinical practitioner - Long COVID (Post-Covid) assessment service, said: “By displaying our Veteran Aware signs at all our NHS locations across the Trust, we are giving a clear signal that the organisation understands that veterans may have experienced situations in the defence of their country which lead to lasting impacts on their health and wellbeing, so need recognition to be treated fairly. Giving veterans that recognition is a vital step in ensuring we are meeting the promises in the Armed Forces Covenant.”
The Armed Forces Covenant - which recently passed into law - is a promise by the nation ensuring that those who serve, or who have served, in the Armed Forces, and their families, are treated fairly. The aim is to develop, share and drive the implementation of best practice that will improve armed forces veterans' care, while at the same time raising standards for everyone across the NHS.
The Veteran Aware accreditation has been awarded by the Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA), an alliance of NHS healthcare providers in England committed to providing the best standards of care for the Armed Forces community, based on the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant. 118 NHS providers in England are now Veteran Aware accredited and the VCHA aims to have all Trusts in England accredited by March 2023.
Darren Tidmarsh, executive sponsor for the Trust’s Armed Forces and Veterans’ network at Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We signed up to the Armed Forces Covenant back in 2017 and for the past five years we have been working on developing greater awareness of veterans and their families and their special place in society. The objective we are all focused on is making sure that people who served in the armed forces are treated fairly and should not face disadvantage when they need healthcare, after all the dedicated service they provided to the nation.”
Christine Duffy, the Armed Forces and Veterans’ network chair, said: “Being recognised and accredited as a Veteran Aware NHS Trust is a significant milestone for the Armed Forces network whose focus is to support the Trust in meeting the commitments that were pledged under the Covenant. This accreditation gives us a platform and credibility to continue to champion and advocate for the needs of the armed forces community across Derby and Derbyshire, and give them a voice within the local health and care system.”