• NHS England and NHS Improvement have announced a joint commitment to specialist health support for veterans across the NHS
• This includes 25 hospitals and trusts which will be accredited ‘Veteran Aware’
• Patients who have served in the UK armed forces will be cared for by frontline staff who have received training and education on their specific needs, such as around mental health.

Responding, the head of policy at NHS Providers, Amber Jabbal said:

“We welcome the commitment from NHS leaders ahead of the 100^th anniversary of the Armistice that veterans will be able to access the specialist health support and mental health services when they need it across the NHS. 

“NHS trusts are playing their part in this with the first 25 hospitals and trusts across the UK now accredited as ‘Veteran Aware’. These trusts are setting a great example by putting in place the means and training for frontline staff to provide the best possible care for those who have served in the armed forces or be able to point them to support services in the community.

'Veteran Aware' trusts will be able to share their experiences with others to ensure that we can provide the best possible access to services for veterans wherever they live.

   

“These trusts will be able to share their experiences with others to ensure that we can provide the best possible access to services for veterans wherever they live.

“The NHS provider sector has an important relationship with the armed forces community as both an employer and providing health and care services, so it is no surprise that trusts are at the forefront of these welcome measures.”

The 25 hospitals that have been accredited as ‘Veteran Aware’ are as follows: Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust; City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust; Doncaster and Bassetlaw NHS Foundation Trust; Guy's and St Thomas's NHS Foundation Trust; Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust; Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Norfolk and Norwich NHS Foundation Trust; North Bristol NHS Trust; North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust; Northumbria NHS Foundation Trust; North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust; Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust; Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust; Royal Edinburgh Hospitals, NHS Lothian; Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust; Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust; South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust; East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust; Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust; Cardiff and Vale University Health Board; Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust.