Veteran Friendly
We are a Veteran Friendly Accredited Practice and Dr D Royal is our Lead GP for Veterans.
Click here for the Armed Forces Directory of services

Veteran Friendly Accrediitation
What is a veteran
- Served in armed forces for one day or more.
- Also reservists
- Some don’t like to be asked if they are a veteran.
- Ask patient - have they ever served in the armed forces
- Most health needs are the same
- Differences on a later slide
- Transition is often a difficult time
Health needs of veterans (brief summary)
- Possible alcohol or substance misuse
- Possible depression/anxiety/PTSD
- Possible injuries from active service
- Consider families especially impact on children and partners
- Transition – seeking health care maybe a challenge, they may not be registered and processes different from army.
- Old notes may not have been transferred over from the army.
- If still in service may not want to disclose certain things as this could impact on their job in the military.
To learn more about the above there is training on the RCGP website
What do we need to do as a practice?
- Identify veterans when they register and code in notes.
- ‘Have you every served in the British Armed Forces?’
- Universal code to be used by all clinicians and admin.
- Signpost identified veterans to support folder which is located in reception.
- Signpost to specialist services (later slides)
- To follow the Covenant (later slide)
- When writing referral letters mention the Covenant within the referrals if applies.
- The practice needs to have a clinical lead
- Lasts 3 years.
- Personal care plan for complex patients.
Armed Forces Covenant
- The Armed Forces Covenant is about fair treatment. For most of the Armed Forces community, the Covenant is about removing disadvantage; so that they get the same access to services as the civilian community. The Armed Forces Covenant sets out the relationship between the nation, the government and the Armed Forces. It recognises that the whole nation has a moral obligation to members of the Armed Forces and their families, and it establishes how they should expect to be treated.
- The Covenant’s two principles are that:
- the Armed Forces community should not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services in the area where they live;
- special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given most such as the injured and the bereaved.’
- Copied from https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/armed-forces/armed-forces-coven/
- Gov document can be found at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/49469/the_armed_forces_covenant.pdf
- To ensure the armed forces community gets the same care as the rest of general public
- If family move location and on an NHS waiting list this should be transferred over so not waiting longer.
- If a veterans condition relates to service they maybe entitled to ‘priority treatment’ so worth mentioning the covenant and that served in military in referral letters.
- Military health records can be accessed with patients consent. The details of how to do this are in RCGP toolkit.
Support Services
- Veterans gateway - https://www.veteransgateway.org.uk/ library of resources for veterans
- TILS (transition, intervention and liaison service) – OP treatment for veterans or recently discharged with mental health problems.
- If needs are complex refer to TILS who will refer onto CTS (complex treatment service)
- Contact – 03031231145, https://www.tewv.nhs.uk/services/veteran-transition-intervention-and-liaison-service-tils-north-england/ details on web.
- Royal British Legion Hearing fund – hearing loss/tinitis
- Veterans mobility fund -RBL. support.britishlegion.org.uk/
- Help for Heroes - https://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/
- Combat stress – mental health https://www.combatstress.org.uk/
- 0800 138 1619 for veterans and their families
- 0800 323 4444 for serving personnel and their families
- Blesma – limb loss, sight loss. https://blesma.org/
- Big White Wall – councillors/resources https://www.bigwhitewall.com/v2/Home.aspx
- Veterans trauma network - https://support.britishlegion.org.uk/app/answers/detail/a_id/1856/~/the-veterans-trauma-network video to watch.
- ‘The Veterans Trauma Network provides specialist care to veterans with service-specific traumatic injuries. Veterans benefit from a personalised care plan implemented by top military and civilian trauma experts. The needs of veterans' families and carers are also taken into consideration.
- The network operates 10 centres in eight major cities: Plymouth, Oxford, London (three centres), Birmingham, Nottingham, Liverpool, Leeds and Middlesbrough.
- Referrals can be made via your GP at veteranstraumanetwork@nhs.net or via Blesma, by either emailing bsoprosthetics@blesma.org or calling 0208 548 7080.’
Resources
1)https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/military-healthcare/priority-nhs-treatment-for-veterans/
2)https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/military-healthcare/in-service-mental-health-contacts/
3)https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/military-healthcare/veterans-physical-injuries/
5)https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/armed-forces/armed-forces-coven/
7)RCGP veterans health care tool kit.
8)Will email out pack also.