Bedford GP Practice’s Commitment to Armed Forces Veterans

Cauldwell Medical Centre has achieved Veterans Aware accreditation, a standard to support the NHS in understanding the needs of veterans which can include mental health and physical health issues related to the unique demands of having served.

The training involved making staff aware of veterans' health needs and challenges, including discussions and awareness sessions.

The practice is focusing on making appointments accessible and ensuring regular communication and follow-ups to accommodate the specific needs of veteran patients.

Next steps include engaging with veteran patients to understand their needs better and exploring new ways to support them, including new training for clinicians.

Cauldwell Medical Centre serves a diverse community, including care homes and a large population, with a patient base of about 10,000.

"Veterans aware training is important because it helps NHS surgeries understand and address the specific needs and challenges faced by veteran patients,” said practice manager Kan Sivasoruban.

“A practice that leads in understanding these needs is better positioned to provide effective support."

Cauldwell is part of East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT), which has signed the Armed Forces Covenant to show its commitment as an organisation towards armed forces communities and in particular UK armed forces veterans.

ELFT has been accredited as a Veteran Aware trust by the Veterans Health Care Alliance (VHCA) in recognition of its commitment to improving NHS care for veterans, reservists, members of the armed forces and their families.

"The Primary Care Armed Forces Accreditation is an effective way for all GP surgeries and teams to show their support for local armed forces communities, especially Armed Forces Veterans," said ELFT Armed Forces Community Clinical Lead Jane Kelly.

All eleven ELFT primary care practices are Armed Forces Veteran Friendly accredited GP practices.

Introduction and Background
Question: "Can you provide a brief overview of your practice and the community you serve?"
Answer: "We are situated in the heart of Bedford Town, serving a diverse community including care homes and a large Eastern European population. Our practice covers about 10,000 patients."

Question: "What motivated your practice to pursue Veterans Aware Accreditation?"
Answer: "We were motivated by a directive to support veterans and to participate in activities that improve patient care and address challenges such as language barriers and technology issues. We aim to ensure veterans do not face additional barriers to accessing healthcare."

Training and Accreditation Process
Question: "What did the Veterans Aware training involve, and how long did it take to complete?"
Answer: "The training involved making staff aware of the health needs and challenges veterans might present. It wasn't very intensive and mainly consisted of discussions and awareness sessions rather than formal training."

Question: "How did your staff respond to the training, and what were some key takeaways?"
Answer: "Staff responded positively. The key takeaway was the importance of continuous support and awareness."

Impact on Services
Question: "How has completing the Veterans Aware training impacted the services you provide to veteran patients?"
Answer: "While it is difficult to quantify the impact at this stage, the staff are more aware of how to help veteran patients. We are committed to communicating more with veteran patients to ascertain the impact."

Question: "Can you share any specific examples of how the training has helped improve care for veterans?"
Answer: "The training has made staff more mindful of the unique needs of veterans. We plan to engage more with veteran patients to better understand their needs."

Best Practices and Challenges
Question: "What are some best practices you've implemented as a result of the training?"
Answer: "We are focusing on making appointments accessible and accommodating the specific needs of veteran patients. Regular communication and follow-up are key."

Question: "Were there any challenges you faced during the accreditation process, and how did you overcome them?"
Answer: "The main challenge was accurately coding and identifying veteran patients in our system. Continuous staff training and awareness sessions have helped overcome this."

Future Plans
Question: "How do you plan to maintain and build upon your Veterans Aware accreditation?"
Answer: "We plan to send out letters and follow up every six months to assess the effectiveness of our interventions and continue improving our services."

Question: "Are there any future initiatives or programmes you’re planning to further support veteran patients?"
Answer: "We will engage with veteran patients to understand their needs better and explore new ways to support them. This includes potential new training for our clinicians."

Advice for Other Practices
Question: "What advice would you give to other practices considering Veterans Aware training and accreditation?"
Answer: "It's beneficial as it raises the practice's profile and helps veteran patients. The key is accurate patient identification and continuous support."

Importance of Veterans Aware Training
Question: "Why is the Veterans Aware training important?"
Answer: "Veterans Aware training is important because it helps NHS surgeries understand and address the specific needs and challenges faced by veteran patients. A practice that leads in understanding these needs is better positioned to provide effective support. A holistic approach and dedicated systems for veterans are essential to ensure comprehensive care."

NHS Veteran Aware is an accreditation programme designed to support NHS trusts in understanding and meeting the needs of the Armed Forces community. Accreditation is administered by the Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA), an NHS England funded programme of work hosted by the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust.

Veteran Aware accreditation seeks to deliver:

better health and wellbeing for the whole of the Armed Forces community,
a more joined-up experience of care for serving personnel and their families as they move around the country and transition from service to civilian life,
faster and more local access to high quality, personalised care for the Armed Forces community and
greater value for money.

Veteran Aware accreditation supports NHS, and other healthcare organisations, to meet the commitments of Armed Forces Act, 2021. The Armed Forces Act brought the Armed Forces Covenant into law and states that members of the Armed Forces Community, should not be disadvantaged when accessing or receiving healthcare.

Accreditation supports the implementation of the nine commitments made in Healthcare for the Armed Forces: a forward view; a companion document to the NHS Long Term Plan.

East London NHS Foundation Trust has signed the Armed Forces Covenant to show our commitment as an organisation towards our Armed Forces Communities and in particular UK Armed Forces Veterans.

We have been acredited as a Veteran Aware trust by the Veterans Health Care Alliance (VHCA) in recognition of our commitment to improving NHS care for veterans, reservists, members of the Armed Forces and their families.

This page provides up-to-date information about the work the Trust is doing via its Veterans Alliance forum to provide employment opportunities, care and treatment, and equality initiatives for our Veterans and their families. It includes organisations that provide a wide range of services for the Armed Forces Community.

Bedford GP Practice’s Commitment to Armed Forces Veterans

Support for Armed Forces Communities