Armed Forces and NHS are teaming up for veteran healthcare

A network of healthcare professionals from within the military and National Health Service are aiming to improve services for veterans.

With more than half of NHS trusts in England and Wales already achieving the status of being 'Veteran Aware', the Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance is now focused on the continuous improvement of healthcare in those areas.

By the end of next year, the alliance says there is a real chance every NHS Trust in England and Wales will be providing better healthcare for the whole forces community.

The Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA) is a group of NHS providers – including acute, mental health, community, and ambulance trusts – who have agreed to be exemplars of the best care for, and support to, the armed forces community (be they Regular, Reserves, Veterans, spouses or dependants).

The NHS Commitment to Armed Forces
The NHS in England is committed to raising standards among healthcare providers of Veterans’ services. The Armed Forces Covenant health commitments are included in the NHS Constitution and Mandates, and form part of the contract with every NHS commissioned provider. This helps to ensure all healthcare professionals will be considerate of these services

Healthcare for the Armed Forces community: a forward view is seen as a companion document to the NHS Long Term Plan (LTP) and outlines the commitments NHS England & Improvement is making to improve the health and wellbeing of the Armed Forces community. Healthcare for the Armed Forces community reflects the emergent priorities and changes the NHS has made from the We are the NHS: People plan 2020/21.

Contributing to the commitment made in the Armed Forces Covenant
The Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA) is a group of NHS providers, including acute, mental health, community, and ambulance trusts that have agreed to be exemplars of the best care for, and support to, the armed forces’ community.

The Veteran Aware model will encourage providers to identify those patients who currently work, or who have worked in the military, as well as service families, to ensure they are not disadvantaged in the care they receive and where possible, that they receive personalised care and improve patient outcomes.