Boost for Armed Forces veterans living at Anchor’s Timken Grange

To achieve their Veteran Friendly status, Timken Grange care home was required to meet eight standards. These included: noting Armed Forces status within care plans; addressing social isolation; and signposting to support services, such as their local Royal British Legion branch, and other charities that provide support for veterans or partners of veterans.

The aim of the VFF is to better support the practical, emotional and social needs of the Armed Forces community in residential care homes across England by providing training and resources to assess and improve the care they offer. It will help tackle loneliness and has the scope to deliver improved health and wellbeing outcomes for the estimated 25,000 veterans living in care homes in England.

Home Manager Louise Mulvany said: “We are very pleased to be part of the VFF and we are looking forward to embedding this over the next year.

“Applying for VFF status is a big undertaking for any care home and I would like to thank my colleagues and residents for their commitment and effort in achieving this – we are truly proud to be a Veteran Friendly home.”

Jack Waterfield is a 103-year-old veteran living at Timken Grange care home and he is very excited that it has become part of the Veteran Friendly Framework.

He has already had visits from the Royal British Legion and is looking forward to the Rushden veterans breakfast club’s visit.

Jack said: “It is going to be really nice to talk about the war with other veterans who understand what it was like, there are not many of us left now.”

The VFF is a collaboration between Armed Forces charities Royal Star & Garter and the Royal British Legion, and NHS Veterans’ Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA), with funding support from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust.

Kathryn Glass is the VFF Project Lead at Royal Star & Garter and responsible for supporting and assessing care homes going through the scheme.

Kathryn said: “We’re delighted that Timken Grange has achieved VFF status. This is a great testament to their continuous improvement in the delivery of person-centred care for veteran residents and their partners.

“The application that Timken Grange submitted was of an exceptionally high standard andfully recognised the dedication, passion, and commitment the team has for providing high-quality person-centred care for residents, and colleagues alike, along with forging some really meaningful connections to the armed forces community and NHS services.”

For more information about Timken Grange, please contact 01604 594 310