Shawbirch Medical Centre is proud to have received accreditation as a ‘Veteran Friendly Practice’. This means we recognise the specific needs of our veteran patient population and are continually improving the care we provide to them.
The Armed Forces Covenant
- The Armed Forces community should enjoy the same standard of, and access to healthcare as that received by any other UK citizen in the area they live.
- Family members should retain their place on any NHS waiting list, if moved around the UK due to the service person being posted.
- Veterans should receive priority treatment for a condition which relates to their service, subject to clinical need.
- Those injured in service should be cared for in a way that reflects the nation’s moral obligation to them, by healthcare professionals who understand the Armed Forces culture.
This is recognised in the NHS Constitution, which states:
“The NHS will ensure that in line with the Armed Forces Covenant, those in the Armed Forces, reservists, their families and veterans are not disadvantaged in accessing health services in the area they reside”.
“Veterans receive their healthcare from the NHS and should receive priority treatment where it relates to a condition which results from their service in the Armed Forces, subject to clinical need.“
Who is a Veteran?
A Veteran is anyone who has served for at least one day in HM Armed Forces (Regular or Reserve) or who has served in Merchant Navy Seafarers and Fishermen on a vessel at a time when it was operated to facilitate military operations by HM Armed Forces. This includes those who provided National Service.
Available Support for Veterans
If you believe you or a family member would benefit from a referral to one of these services, please discuss with a member of the healthcare team at Shawbirch Medical Centre.
OpRESTORE: the Veterans’ Physical Health and Wellbeing Service is an NHS service that ensures those who have served within the UK Armed Forces access the right treatment for significant, continuing physical injuries and illnesses caused by their time in the Armed Forces.
Op COURAGE: the Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Service is the new over-arching name for the three NHS veterans’ mental health services.The new name has been developed by veterans and their families and is intended to make the services easier to find and access.
Veterans’ Gateway is for any ex-service personnel and their families looking for advice or support, 24 hours a day. It is the first point of contact to a network of military and non-military partner organisations to help veterans and their families find exactly what information, advice and support they need, when they need it – across key areas from physical and mental health to employability, housing, finances, personal relationships and more.
Contact is a group of charitable, support and state organisations that have joined forces to enhance mental health support available to the Armed Forces community. The partnership consists of Big White Wall, Cobseo, Combat Stress, Help for Heroes, The Royal British Legion, Walking With The Wounded, the NHS, MOD, UK Psychological Trauma Society and King’s College London. Contact aims to improve collaborative care management, increase instances of help-seeking behaviour, improve service provision, encourage best practice across the sector and improve public knowledge of what support is available and how best to access it.
Cobseo, as the Confederation of Service Charities, offers membership to charities who promote and further the welfare and general interests of the Armed Forces community, subject to fulfilling the membership criteria. Comprising 255 members, Cobseo provides a single point of contact for interaction with the Armed Forces community.
Help for Heroes helps veterans, service personnel and their families live well after service. The charity provides direct, practical support for wounded, injured and sick service personnel, veterans and their loved ones. No matter when or where someone served, the charity offers support with physical and mental health needs, a range of welfare issues and regional and community-based sporting and social activities across the UK and online. Help for Heroes can assist with the provision of financial grants for things such as home adaptations and medical equipment to help people overcome challenges from illness or injury.
The Hidden Wounds Service at Help for Heroes is accredited by the Royal College of Psychiatrists and offers a confidential, evidence-based range of Step 2 and Step 3 psychotherapeutic interventions, tailored to individual needs. Psychotherapeutic interventions are psychological talking therapies to support individuals in addressing and improving their mental health symptoms. Support is delivered remotely via phone or video calls from psychologists, counsellors and low and high intensity cognitive behavioural therapists.
Combat Stress is the UK’s leading mental health charity for veterans. They provide free specialised clinical treatment and support to ex-servicemen and women across the UK with mental health conditions. Combat Stress has a strategic partnership with the MOD and the Department of Health and Social Care. This enables them to work directly with NHS mental health trusts and Armed Forces health networks to develop services suitable for military veterans.