Hospital wins national accreditation for the way it supports armed forces personnel and patients

It hasachieved the Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA) - accrediting the hospital as being Veterans Aware - and the Ministry of Defence’s Silver Award in the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (DEMR).

This means the hospital - which is part of University Hospitals of Northamptonshire - has demonstrated its commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant principles and a commitment to meeting care and support standards laid out by the NHS.

This means (if it does) that the hospital goes the extra mile to supporting current, or former, armed forces colleagues who come to work at the hospital or who come to it as a patient.

Trevor Shipman is a Non-Executive Director on the hospital’s Trusts Board and is Chair of the Armed Forces Staff Network. He said: “Achieving the Veterans Aware accreditation for our hospital will mean we can better support veterans, reservists, cadets and their families and improve the experience for our patients

“Members of the armed forces and their families can face many challenges and health inequalities. The work we are doing at our hospital will help to reduce those challenges and improve their experience.”

One major initiative for KGH is setting-up a monthly Veterans Breakfast held on the last Friday of the month at 9am in our restaurant – The Basement Brasserie – and we welcome veterans to attend.

Instrumental in setting up the club was Willie Adams who is both a Fire Advisor at KGH and is a veteran having served for 13 years in the Royal Engineers.

He said: “This is something I have a personal interest in, due to receiving support from various charities since leaving the forces and having received continuous support from KGH during my time here.

“The breakfast clubs play a key role in supporting veterans. We wanted to link our local armed forces community with our colleagues to create a sense of community. The clubs also help to integrate veterans into life after serving in the forces.”

The club is an opportunity for both colleagues and patients to attend a safe space where they can share their experiences, find support and give the hospital feedback

Willie added: “The priority of these clubs is to ensure the welfare of veterans. Making sure that the veterans are signposted to the right help, including how they can be supported by KGH and the NHS.”

Alongside the Veterans Aware accreditation, KGH was amongst seven Forces-friendly employers to be recognised for outstanding support to Reserves, Cadet Instructors, Military Spouses and Forces Families.

The hospital first signed the Armed Forces Covenant in 2019, achieving the Bronze Award. To achieve the Silver Award, the hospital has developed suitable policies and procedures to ensure service personnel are not disadvantaged during their employment.

Work the hospital does to support members of the armed forces includes:

• Setting-up a monthly Veterans Network Group aimed at continuing support for armed forces colleagues
• Recruiting Armed Forces Champions: Made up of colleagues who have volunteered to be ambassadors for armed forces personnel and will offer advice and guidance to patients and staff
• Veterans’ awareness: Encouraging patients and colleagues to declare their veteran status to ensure we can support them fully

Trevor Shipman said: “I appreciate how hard our organisation has worked to achieve both Veterans Aware accreditation and the Silver award.

Our colleagues are dedicated to making things better for the Armed Forces locally and addressing the challenges they face. We have plans in place to continue this support, including the Veterans breakfast and the Champions training.”

The hospital's next breakfast club will take place on Friday, 23 August from 09:00 am in the Basement Brasserie (Lower ground floor, KGH).