Armed Forces Week: Have you or your family served in the Armed Forces?
This week marks Armed Forces Week, which is an opportunity to celebrate our Armed Forces – serving personnel, veterans and their families. As a Trust, we are committed to supporting the Armed Forces Community. We have pledged to promote and raise awareness of the Armed Forces Community, be an Armed Forces-friendly employer and ensure members of the Armed Forces Community receive appropriate care. If you are using our services, please make sure you tell us if you or a family member has served, or is currently serving.
Identifying this information helps us to ensure you receive personalised care and special consideration for priority healthcare may be appropriate in some cases, especially for those that have given most, such as the injured or bereaved. Armed Forces Community members may be considered for priority access to NHS services for conditions arising as a direct result from their Service, compared to non-Service patients with the same level of clinical need. This is a clinical decision, made by the relevant physician. We can also connect you to a wide range of specialist support services available to the Armed Forces community locally.
Recognising those with a service background also supports our ongoing efforts to improve the quality and equity of care. Billy Young, a Co-occurring Mental Health and Substance Misuse Practitioner, shares his personal perspective on why it’s important to let us know if you or a family member has served.
“We want to ensure we provide the right care and treatment to all our patients, so it's important we understand their lives. We understand it may be difficult for you to talk about your experience in the Armed Forces but if we understand your background, we can ensure we tailor our care accordingly.
“I have worked with many Veterans, but one that stands out was a gentleman who served in the Armed Forces for around ten years from the age of 17. He served three tours in areas of conflict before sadly developing struggles with alcohol that eventually led to him to leaving the forces. Knowledge of his service and what he experienced was crucial and fed into Ward-based formulation and his treatment and discharge planning. Together we were able to link him to Veterans Aid and Op Courage - both services offer specialist support to UK veterans. Veterans Aid were particularly useful with housing and accommodation (the patient was effectively homeless at the point of admission), Op Courage were able to work with him towards receiving psychological support around his PTSD symptoms.”
“The Armed Forces Community may have options that mean they can access support from specialist teams more quickly and therefore spend less time on waiting lists. This means they get the treatment they need sooner, symptoms can be addressed and crises maybe be avoided. The advantages of this don’t stop with the individual - families, loved ones and partners often feel the benefits that priority access offers.”