Stennack Surgery is an accredited veteran friendly GP practice.
This means that, as part of the health commitments of the Armed Forces Covenant, we have a dedicated clinician who has a specialist knowledge of military related health conditions and veteran specific health services. This is important in helping ex-forces to get the best care and treatment. We are proud to support our armed forces community.
What is a veteran?
A veteran is anyone who has served for at least one day in the Armed Forces, whether as a regular or reservist. It means the same as ‘ex service personnel’ or ‘ex-forces’, although not all veterans know the term or choose to associate with the term ‘veteran’.
How many veterans are there in UK?
- In the UK, there are 2.4 million veterans
- 18,000 Service people leave the military annually
- 2,500 leave the Services on medical grounds annually
- 750,000 veterans are of working age in England and Wales
- There are 5.4 million adult spouses, partners, widowers and child dependants of veterans
- Each NHS GP will have around 30 + veterans on their list
As a veteran friendly practice we:
- Have a clinical lead for veteran health – Dr Michael Beswick
- Recognising veterans within our community upon the registration process
- Support veteran patients to access dedicated health services
- Undertake specialist training to meet the health commitments of the armed forces covenant.
If you are a veteran patient, please let us know that you have served so that we can make sure we understand your health needs.
To date, in excess of 1000 practices are now veteran-friendly accredited, accounting for 14% of all practices in England. To find out more about the veteran friendly practices accreditation scheme visit the Royal College of General Practitioners website. The veteran friendly practices accreditation scheme is run by the Royal College of General Practitioners in partnership with NHS England and NHS Improvement.
What dedicated NHS services and support are available to veterans?
Veterans’ Gateway
The Veterans’ Gateway is made up of a consortium of organisations and Armed Forces charities, including The Royal British Legion, SSAFA, Combat Stress and Connect Assist. It is a main point of contact for veterans seeking support, putting them and their families in touch with the organisations best placed to help with the information, advice and support they need – from healthcare and housing to employability, finances, personal relationships and more. For more information, visit the Veterans’ Gateway website.
Combat Stress
Combat Stress is the UK’s leading mental health charity for veterans. It provides free specialised clinical treatment and support to ex-servicemen and women across the UK with mental health conditions. Combat Stress has a strategic partnership with the MOD and the Department of Health and Social Care. This enables the charity to work with NHS mental health to develop services suitable for military veterans. For further information, visit the Combat Stress website.
Op COURAGE: The Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Service
In March 2021, NHS England and NHS Improvement announced the new name for its veterans mental health services; Op COURAGE: The Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Service. Op COURAGE provides specialist care and support for Service leavers, reservists, veterans and their families who can self refer or ask a GP, charity or someone else to refer them. For further information on Op COURAGE: The Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Service, including the contact details for the service in your region, click here.
Help for Heroes
Help for Heroes provides direct, practical support for wounded, injured and sick service personnel, veterans and their loved ones from any conflict. They have four recovery centres in the UK offering medical care, guidance, support and advice. Patients can self-refer or be referred by a professional. Once referred, an initial assessment will take place within one to two weeks and there is no waiting list for treatment. For further information, visit the Help for Heroes website.
Veterans Trauma Network (VTN)
The VTN is the first NHS veterans’ physical health care pathway, providing care and treatment to those with a service-attributable healthcare problem. Located in thirteen major trauma centres (Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Leeds, Liverpool, London (three centres), Middlesbrough, Nottingham, Oxford and Plymouth) across England, the VTN works closely with Defence Medical Services, national centres of clinical expertise and Op COURAGE, as well as military charities to provide a complete package of care. It is run largely by healthcare professionals who are either veterans or serving members of the Armed Forces. This can be accessed through a referral by the GPs to their email: england.veteranstraumanetwork@nhs.net
Prosthetics
The Veterans’ Prosthetics Panel (VPP) was established in 2012 as a way of ensuring that veterans can access high quality prosthetics regardless of which Disablement Service Centre (DSC) they attend. This additional funding is available only to veterans who have lost a limb whilst in military service. A veteran who has left the Armed Forces, but whose limb loss is attributable to an injury sustained whilst in service, also qualifies. Veterans who lose limbs after they leave the military or suffer limb loss whilst in the military, but not in a service attributable incident, such as in a civilian road traffic accident, will continue to access services as usual through their local DSC.
The additional funding for eligible veterans is for treatment that would not typically be provided by the NHS, for example higher specification prostheses than are normally available on the NHS. Funding is approved on a case by case basis, with DSCs making individual funding applications to the VPP, which set out the expected requirement and benefit if the request is supported. More information is available on the NHS webpage on services for veterans with physical injuries.
