Welcome to the Autumn/ Winter edition of our Armed Forces stakeholder brief. To mark this year’s Remembrance, NHS England and our partner Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) are urging GP practices to become veteran friendly accredited and prevent ‘silently struggling’ veterans from delaying seeking medical help.
The Veteran Friendly Accreditation scheme by the RCGP and NHS England is a quick-to-implement, free support programme that provides the general practice team with a simple process for identifying, understanding and supporting veterans and, where appropriate, referring them to specialist physical and mental healthcare services. These could include Op COURAGE: The Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Service, Op RESTORE: The Veterans Physical Health and Wellbeing Service and OP Nova: Supporting Veterans in the Justice System.
98% of primary care networks currently have at least one veteran friendly accredited GP practice – please help us to meet our ambition of 100% coverage, by promoting the benefits of practices becoming veteran friendly, to best support their patients who have served in the UK Armed Forces.
As we join the whole of the NHS in England in remembering the commitments and sacrifices of the Armed Forces and their families and wider communities, we wish you a peaceful Remembrance at what can be a difficult time of year for people who have served and their loved ones. Those who have served in the UK Armed Forces, and live in England can contact Op COURAGE for support with their mental health.
NHS England signs up to the Armed Forces Covenant NHS Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard signed the Armed Forces Covenant on behalf of NHS England at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea on 5 September 2024.
The Covenant is a commitment from the nation that those who serve or have served, and their families, are treated fairly and not disadvantaged in their day-to-day lives as a result of their military service.
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It is supported by a wide range of organisations, including the UK Government and Devolved Administrations, local government, businesses of all sizes, schools, charities and the NHS.
Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, said: “It’s my privilege to make this public pledge of support to the Armed Forces community and I hope this reinforces that their contribution and sacrifices are valued by the NHS.
“I’ve seen first-hand when meeting former service personnel, and their families, that they have unique circumstances and needs, which are best supported by expertise, understanding and personalised care. Thankfully I’ve also seen brilliant examples of the NHS working hand in glove with local charities and voluntary groups already serving this community to provide that support.
“Signing the Covenant affirms the NHS’s commitment to the people who serve, veterans and their families that we will strive to ensure they get what they need from the health service, but also to be an active partner locally and nationally in tackling the wider challenges they face.”
More information about NHS England’s Covenant signing is available here. | ||
Minister for Veterans and People, Al Carns visits Midlands Op COURAGE
On 13 September 2024, Minister for Veterans and People, Al Carns OBE MC MP, visited the Birmingham base of the Midlands Op COURAGE Partnership at the Barberry, part of Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust.
Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has been the lead provider for the Midlands Op COURAGE service since April 2023 and Operational Lead, Doug Wing (RNMH), was delighted to attend the visit, alongside other clinical leads from across the partnership.
Op COURAGE is an NHS service developed with people who have served in the Armed Forces and experienced mental ill-health. Working together with NHS services and charities, Op COURAGE makes sure people who have served and are struggling with their mental health and wellbeing get the specialist care, support and treatment for their specific needs.
Midlands Op COURAGE is one of six regional providers of the service in England, and since April 2023, has supported more than 1,700 veterans, service leavers, reservists and their families across both the East and West Midlands.
During the visit Mr Carns, a former Royal Marine and MP for Birmingham Selly Oak, met members of the partnership team and spoke to veterans, Steve and Will, about their life-changing experiences of receiving treatment through the service.
For more information, visit the Lincolnshire Partnership Trust website.
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Update from the Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA) An outstanding 98% of NHS trusts in England have been accredited as Veteran Aware, bringing the total to 203. Additionally, an increasing number of independent providers and hospices have been accredited, many of whom have NHS contracts. The increasing number of accredited organisations, who primarily care for children, is representative of the improved understanding of the breadth and diversity of the Armed Forces community. On behalf of Armed Forces families, thank you for your commitment to understanding and improving care.
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The VCHA’s annual conference on 11 September was a great success with almost 300 delegates joining both in person and online, marking the best attended conference to date. Attendees heard a wide variety of informative presentations from excellent speakers, including those with lived experience. A big thank you to all speakers, attendees and exhibitors for making the event a success. Presentations from the conference can be viewed on the VCHA’s YouTube channel.
Rehabilitation lead, Linus Cosgrove, provided an update on his work, including the launch of new resources for both staff and patients. Resources include posters and toolkits to support identification of members of the Armed Forces community and to support veteran rehabilitation. For more information, please email Linus at rnoh.rehab.vcha@nhs.net.
Finally, the VCHA’s ‘Resources for the Armed Forces community’ web page has been given a makeover. A poster for organisations linking directly to this page will shortly be available; this replaces the previous QR code leaflet, commonly shared at discharge.
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Op NOVA service visit 2024: “There is no solution without coming together as one”
The inaugural Op NOVA service visit on 24 July 2024 was a relevant and timely opportunity for the health and justice sectors to review and collaborate on the delivery of Op NOVA, the NHS-commissioned support service for veterans in the justice system.
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Together, speakers and delegates reviewed Op NOVA’s first year of pre- and post-custody support; promoted Op NOVA’s rollout through the prison service and prepared for the challenges of the government’s early prison release scheme.
Keynote speaker Kate Davies CBE (Director of Health and Justice, Armed Forces and Sexual Assault Services Commissioning, NHS England) was joined by programme delivery partner Alistair Halliday (CEO, Forces Employment Charity), Kent police and veterans with lived experience of the justice system.
The event highlighted the need for collaboration across the sectors, noting that the uptake of referral services, such as Op NOVA, can help reduce the strain on the justice system and generate positive outcomes for the health and well-being of the veteran community.
“It’s about reaching out and finding the opportunities and ways to develop the service throughout the justice system. This will help to identify, support and improve the support offered to veterans and their families. It will also help to deliver on our objective to reduce offending behaviour, improve health equalities and raise individual health, well-being and attainment”, explained Kate Davies.
To date, Op NOVA has identified and approached all veterans eligible for release under the early prison release scheme and continues to work with all sector stakeholders to ensure that it’s unique ‘through the gate’ support is visible and accessible to veterans at all stages of the justice system.
The Op NOVA team would like to thank all delegates from across the police, HMPPS, liaison and diversion services, Op COURAGE, RECONNECT and sexual assault referral centre teams for their valued contributions and feedback.
A new leaflet, produced with the support of the NHS England Armed Forces Patient and Public Voice Group, outlining Op NOVA’s provision of practical and emotional support is available for download.
Contact Op NOVA to refer a veteran or find out more information here.
A summary of the event and keynote sessions is available online.
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Update from Op RESTORE Referrals into Op RESTORE continue to increase, with the first six months of 2024-25 seeing 259 referrals; an increase of 40% on the same time last year. The service is also providing clinical advice and guidance to referrers where there is insufficient clinical information for the service to accept the referral. Additional recruitment over the summer has grown the team from four to six members of staff, which is enabling the service to work closer with our ‘Op’ colleagues for veterans who have complexities, as well as other statutory and non-statutory services and provider.
In conjunction, the service will be undertaking a deeper understanding of musculoskeletal provision across England over the next 12 months and map provision. This is intended to help improve collaborative working with primary care social prescribing and local NHS pathways to support veterans to self-refer where appropriate and empower them to support their own healthcare where applicable.
Further details can be found at Op RESTORE: The Veterans Physical Health and Wellbeing Service
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Latest primary care network veteran friendly accreditations Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) veteran friendly accreditation: 98% of primary care networks (PCNs) have at least 1 veteran friendly accredited practice and 62% of GP practices are accredited across England.
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Change NHS: a health service fit for the future
NHS staff are working harder than ever to get services back on track, to get waiting lists down and consistently deliver the best care.
We know change is needed. But we also know that many of the solutions we need are already here, working somewhere in the NHS today.
Whether you have a little to say or a lot, your views, experiences and ideas will shape immediate steps and long-term changes: a new 10-Year Health Plan for the NHS.
This is a once in a generation opportunity to set the NHS on a path for the future. Together we can fix it. We need your voice.
Go to change.nhs.uk to find out how you can take part.
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If you are receiving this brief as a forward and would like to be added to the mailing list, please email miranda.askew@nhs.net
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