Veteran Aware re-accreditation for Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust

Our Trust is delighted to announce it has been re-accredited as Veteran Aware.

We were originally accredited in May 2020, and again met standards laid down by the Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA), a national NHS team in 2023.

The VCHA’s aim is to make sure that patients from the Armed Forces Community, including families and dependents, are paid due regard and are not disadvantaged in terms of access to and outcomes of healthcare, as a result of their military life in line with the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant.

They do this by developing, sharing and driving the implementation of best practice, while at the same time raising standards for everyone in NHS Trusts in England. The Veterans Strategy action plan 2022 has since expanded the programme to include hospices and the Independent Care Sector.

The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise by the nation ensuring that those who serve, or who have served, in the armed forces, and their families, are treated fairly. This means it takes active note of the needs of the Armed Forces Community. 

With a general population in Yorkshire & Humber of 5,480,800 it is estimated that 596,546 (11%) are from the armed forces community.

The VCHA noted that our Trust had built upon our original accreditation, through the development of a “Why Ask” booklet, which encourages staff to ask more qualitative questions about an individual’s protected characteristics and/or health inequalities; through the development of a Champion role called Armed Forces Community Navigator, all of whom become members of the Trust’s Veterans forum where speakers attend the forums to share knowledge, skills and experience; and the sharing of patient/carer stories at Trust Board and Council of Governors and through global communications within our Trust. 

Michele Moran said: “Our Trust is delighted to have once more received the Veteran Aware accreditation. I would like to thank and recognise the whole team for their exceptional work in gaining this honour. Ensuring our services are accessible and understanding the experiences of veterans is paramount to our inclusive approach to services.”

VCHA Regional Lead Mandy Stokes said: “Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust has clearly imbued the ethos of Veteran Aware accreditation. Some of the work it has developed has been hugely encouraging and I commend them for this. It has been a pleasure working with the Trust Leads for this work and I look forward to continuing to work with them as their agenda moves forward.”

VCHA Chairman, Prof Tim Briggs CBE, said: “More and more Trusts are seeing the value of Veteran Aware accreditations as seen through the numbers of Trusts that are now accredited. We now stand at 76% of NHS Trusts across England, which is a testament both to the dedication of my team and to the wider NHS family who work tirelessly on behalf of the military community despite the many pressures they will be under. Well done all.”

The VCHA’s will be holding its national event at The Barbican Centre on Wednesday 20 September 2023. This is now fully subscribed, with a number of attendees on the wait list. However, the team has an option for a live feed, allowing people to view it from the comfort of their desk or from home via Microsoft Teams. You can book your place here.