The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), which runs the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) and the Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford, is signed up with the Armed Forces Covenant and is proud to be a Veteran Accredited Aware trust.
The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise by the nation that those who serve or have served in the UK armed forces, and their families, will be treated fairly.
Veteran Aware is an accreditation programme designed to support NHS trusts in understanding and meeting the needs of the armed forces community and providing better healthcare. By holding this accreditation, SaTH seeks to deliver a more joined-up experience of care for serving personnel and their families and continues to play a leading role in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin in improving the care of veterans in our community.
The work to improve the care of veterans and their families is led by many of our veteran employee’s. Dr Kevin Eardley, a Major in the reservist 202 Field Hospital based at Copthorne Barracks in Shrewsbury, said: “When I am not deployed, I need to be connected with military people and one mechanism of doing that is through my Veteran Aware work. This ensures that I am connected to both serving personnel and veterans at the same time. The Armed Forces Covenant highlights that veterans are at risk of disadvantage through their service.”
In 2014, Professor Tim Briggs, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, wrote the Chavasse Report, which looks at ways to improve and raise the standards of care for members of the armed forces. The report takes its name from Captain Noel Chavasse, a World War 1 doctor whose guiding principle was to ensure better and greater continuity of care for those people severely wounded in action or suffering debilitating infirmity, as a consequence of their military service.
One highlighted point within the report shows that musculoskeletal injuries account for 60% of medical discharges from the forces. Injuries such as this will significantly increase the risk of the premature onset of degenerative arthritis at an earlier stage in later life. It is for reasons like this that patients arriving at hospital are asked whether they or any of their family are a member of the armed forces, or whether they are a veteran.
This is for the staff to establish if there are any additional needs to be met. At the patients request, the Veteran Aware scheme can be notified. Information is provided to these patients and their families such as what to expect during a visit to a hospital.
Relevant staff are trained to be aware of veterans’ needs and the commitments of the NHS under the Armed Forces Covenant. Additional signposting to services available is included, both within the hospital and in the local community.
The NHS benefits significantly from the skills and experience of the Armed Forces community, and Veteran Aware organisations support the employment of this community in the NHS.
As well as supporting patients who are currently, or have served in the armed forces, Veteran Aware hospitals support the employment of veterans and reservists in the NHS workforce.
As well as serving their patients, SaTH colleagues are encouraged to sign up to training and engagement sessions, as well as attending events such as National Armed Forces Day celebrations in June each year and locally organised events, such as one which will take place on Wednesday 18 September 2024 at both RSH and PRH from 12 -2pm. The Trust also holds a Remembrance Day event in November.
You can find out more about the Armed Forces Covenant and Veteran Aware via the website.