Veteran Friendly Practice

The NHS is responsible for providing all hospital and most community services for serving personnel (except for mental health, general practice and rehabilitation services). The NHS also provides nearly all community, general practice and hospital services for the families of serving personnel, reservists and veterans. Included as part of this are the following dedicated services and initiatives to support the Armed Forces community.

Op COURAGE is an NHS mental health specialist service designed to help serving personnel due to leave the military, reservists, armed forces veterans and their families.

How Op COURAGE can help

Op COURAGE can help you and your family with a range of support and treatment, including:

• supporting you with intensive emergency care and treatment if you’re in a crisis
• helping you transition from military to civilian life by providing mental health care with Defence Medical Services (DMS)
• supporting armed forces families affected by mental health problems, including helping you access local services
• helping you recognise and treat early signs of mental health problems as well as more advanced mental health conditions and psychological trauma
• helping you to access other NHS mental health services if you need them, such as finding an NHS psychological therapies service (IAPT) and eating disorder services
• helping you get in touch with charities and local organisations who can support your wider health and wellbeing needs, such as housing, relationships, finances, employment, drug and alcohol misuse and social support

To find out more about Op COURAGE click here.

Op RESTORE, The Veterans Physical Health and Wellbeing Service is an NHS service that supports individuals who have served in, or are leaving, the UK armed forces and have continuing, physical health injuries and related medical problems attributed to their time in the armed forces. It is hosted at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

Working together with military and civilian medical professionals, along with armed forces charities, our teams understand military life and the longer-term care and support that may be required for veterans, service leavers, reservists, families and carers.

Find out more here.

Op ASCEND is a free service that supports veterans and their families in growing their careers.

It’s run by the Forces Employment Charity and funded by government.

Whether you’re a veteran, a family member or an employer looking to attract skilled talent to your organisation, find out what signing up can do for you.

Find out more here.

IPC4V is a personalised care approach for serving personnel who have complex and enduring physical, neurological and mental health conditions that are attributable to injury whilst in service.

It provides a framework for effectively planning and delivering personalised care in line with the Armed Forces Covenant. Central to this is an improved discharge planning process, starting approximately nine months before these individuals leave the military.

This means that the MOD, health and social care, Armed Forces charities and other organisations involved in the care of these individuals are brought together at an earlier point in the care pathway, ensuring care and support arrangements are in place as they transition to civilian life and beyond.

Ex-forces with a complex and life-long health condition may be eligible for the veterans personalised care programme. 

Eligible individuals will have a single personalised care plan for all their health and wellbeing needs that is developed with them and a range of organisations, including health and social care and military charities.

To apply, individuals should contact their local clinical commissioning group.

Help For Heroes helps veterans, and those still serving, by providing physical, psychological, financial and welfare support for as long as they need it. They also support families, because they too can be affected by their loved one’s wounds.

The Royal British Legion is at the heart of a national network that supports our Armed Forces community.

They are there through thick and thin – ensuring their unique contribution is never forgotten. 

They are the country’s largest Armed Forces charity, with 180,000 members, 110,000 volunteers and a network of partners and charities; helping them give support wherever and whenever it’s needed.

Veterans UK provide free support for veterans and their families, including a helpline, Veterans Welfare Service, Defence Transition Services and injury/bereavement compensation scheme payments.

Veterans UK is part of the Ministry of Defence (MOD). They help ex-service personnel get appropriate support from government, local authorities, independent bodies and the charity sector.

They also provide welfare support for veterans of any age, and their families through the Veterans Welfare Service and the Veterans UK helpline: 0808 1914 2 18.

Over the next five years, NHS England and NHS Improvement, together with the Royal College of General Practitioners, are rolling out the veteran friendly GP practice accreditation scheme across England. This scheme, which is intended to help ensure practices are equipped to best care for veterans and their families.

College Lane Surgery became accredited on 28.10.2019.

College Lane Surgery commit to honour the Armed Forced Covenant and support the Armed Forces Community. We recognise the value Serving Personnel, both Regular and Reservists, Veterans and military families contribute to our business and our country.

College Lane Surgery signed the Armed Forces Covenant on 14.02.2020 and received the employer recognition scheme, bronze award.

Email: england.armedforceshealth@nhs.net

Visit: www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/military-healthcare/