Are you a Military Veteran?
In the UK a military veteran is defined as anyone who has drawn one day’s pay from the Armed Forces. This means all personnel, male or female, who have served for one day or more, in any occupation in the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, or the Army, including Reservists and National Service personnel, and the Merchant Navy if involved in a conflict.
A veteran is therefore not defined by the length, nature of their service, or when they left. They also remain veterans even if discharged from the forces for a serious or criminal breach of the 1955 Army Act.
In the NHS we use the term ‘veteran’ to describe ex-forces who are entitled to priority access under the UK Military Covenant, the UK Government’s promise of a duty of care to British armed forces.
If you might be struggling with your health and need support, please book an appointment to see a GP, or have a look at this leaflet as a start point: Military Veteran Leaflet.
Make sure you give us a copy of your service medical record
Veterans are given a personal copy of their summary medical record when they leave the service as well as information on how to obtain their full Service Medical Record if they need it.
However, it is easy for this to be lost or misplaced. If you need to get a copy of your record, you can find more information about how to get a copy at the following web address:
How to request a copy of your medical record
Please let the Practice Manager know if you need the practice to look into this on your behalf.
Support for Family Members
If your loved one is a veteran and you need help, you can access free and confidential services such as:
- Support for Families – Family Support
- Hidden Wounds – Hidden Wounds Service
- Royal British Legion – Family Short-Term Breaks
Tell us what more we can do?
The practice has started to focus on how we improve care for our military veterans and their families and so far, we have:
- Nominated a GP lead for military veterans
- Set up a military veteran page on our website
- Improved the way we identify military veterans and their families through our new patient registration forms;
- Put messages about veteran’s health on our TV screens and JayEx Board in the waiting rooms;
- Set up a Military Veteran notice board in our waiting room;
- Held meetings with Blesma and Help for Heroes; and
- Set up a Military Veteran training seminars to raise awareness with our doctors and nursing staff.
However, there is much more we would like to do, so if you do have any ideas about how we can improve our care for Veterans or their Families, then please let Renee Person, our Practice Manager know.
