Course: Veterans' Health Hub

Improve health outcomes for veterans and benefit your practice

By becoming a Veteran Friendly practice, staff will have a better understanding of veteran needs, veterans will feel more confident that your GP team will understand their needs, and more veterans may join your practice as a result.

There are 1.74 million in England and research shows that many may be silently struggling with physical or mental health problems as they worry that they won’t be understood by civilian health and care professionals. Veteran Friendly accreditation sends a strong signal to veteran patients that you are dedicated to supporting them, making it more likely that they will feel comfortable to seek help when they need it.

Full list of accredited veteran friendly practices (311 KB XLS)

Become an accredited practice
Who is a veteran?

A veteran is anyone who has served for at least one day in the British Armed Forces, whether as a Regular or Reservist (previously known as the Territorial Army). 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.’ Younger veterans might refer to themselves as ‘ex-forces,’ in the belief that a veteran is someone who fought in the First or Second World War. Veterans include those who were Merchant Navy seafarers or fisherman who served in a vessel used to support the UK's armed forces at any time.

How do we know if a person already registered with a GP, or when registering, is a veteran?

Veterans should be coded as 'military veteran' so practice staff are aware. Many veterans do not realise they are veterans, they use other terminology or do not know that mentioning their service to their GP could help. Our advice is to ask all patients if they have ever served in the UK's armed forces. Veterans can also be asked 'Are you a veteran?' at registration, and please check your practice registration form to ensure this question is asked there. The family doctor services registration GMS1 form includes a specific question to help with this. Consider whether a patient who attends with a health problem, especially a mental health issue, might be a veteran or a member of the armed forces community. If this is not already flagged in their patient record, finding this out may help to identify any associated health issues. It is always worth asking the patient, “Have you ever served in the armed forces?” Veterans are given a personal copy of their summary medical record when they leave the Services, together with information on how to obtain their full service medical record if they need it. Further details on requesting records are on the NHS website Healthcare for the armed forces community - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

What are the benefits of accreditation?

An evaluation of the Veteran Friendly scheme, completed by the University of Chester, revealed that 99% of participating practices would recommend it to others, with the most valued benefits including a simple process for identifying veterans, clear referral pathways to specialist veteran healthcare support and faster access to priority services.

Research shows that becoming accredited benefits both veterans and practice staff, with veterans getting access to the right support for a better patient experience and improved outcomes. Furthermore, practice staff say it makes them feel motivated and proud of their role. There is also the potential to save time through reduced repeat appointments.

Veteran Friendly accreditation also sends a strong signal to veteran patients that you are dedicated to supporting them, making it more likely that they will feel comfortable to seek help when they need it.

Accreditation can also be used to demonstrate evidence of meeting CQC obligations and the legal requirements of the Armed Forces Covenant, which requires that no veteran should face disadvantages in accessing health services and should receive priority care for military attributable conditions, subject to clinical need.

Become an accredited practice

How can my practice become accredited?

Signing up to become Veteran Friendly Accredited takes just 20 minutes and the information pack you receive can be consumed in less than two hours, with supplementary learning shared in a short newsletter on a quarterly basis.

The form can be completed by anyone in the practice team, whether their role is clinical or non-clinical, with practice managers often taking the lead.

While a clinical lead must be named in the form, the learning and support can be shared across the wider practice team - with social prescribing link workers ideally placed to play a key role in running this initiative. Clinical leads don’t need to be veterans either - in fact most aren’t - showing you don’t need military experience to make a life-changing difference for this vulnerable patient group.

Once you have signed up and read the short accreditation pack, simply:

Share the key information from the accreditation pack with colleagues

Ask patients registering with the surgery if they have ever served in the British Armed Forces and record their answer in their patient record. We recommend writing the term ‘Military Veteran’ (due to a number of different codes available)

Stay up-to-date with best practice via the quarterly Veteran Friendly Accreditation newsletter, which provides easy access to the latest information and learning

The result will be better care for your patients and a multitude of benefits to your practice. A ‘good’ or higher CQC rating is desirable, but not essential.

If you have applied for veteran friendly accreditation but haven't had a response, please email us to find out about the status of your application.

Once your practice has become accredited, there is no need to renew your accreditation. We ask that your clinical lead maintains their knowledge via our newsletters and any new training we release.

If your veteran clinical leaves the practice, your accreditation is still valid if their responsibilities have been handed over to a new clinical lead and that person has completed the accreditation training. A new veteran clinical lead should contact us with the new name and direct email address, to receive an accreditation welcome pack with details of their training.

If your practice is due to close, please email to let us know when you will be closing.

Contact us
Read our veteran testimonials Page

"In the first year outside of the armed forces I struggled with my mental health and attended the surgery. It was surprising to be asked if I was a veteran, I didn't expect it, but I was appreciative of the acknowledgement that I may be suffering from issues different to those of other patients. The Wirral is not a big military hub like Colchester or Catterick, so I was a little surprised to be asked the question. The surgery sought to get me the necessary support for my mental health issues and referred me for the local mental health group where I was diagnosed with PTSD and given help in order for me to confront and manage this condition."

Jon Lynn, The Orchard Surgery
Resources for your practice and patients

A range of guidance for accredited GP practices on the care of patients who have served in the UK Armed Forces, and their families.

Get Veteran Friendly accredited

Complete our 20 minute form and you’ll be sent our accreditation pack to help you improve your care for veterans and give your practice team the information they need.

Become accredited

The difference it makes: GP practice teams

Contact

For Veteran Friendly accreditation related queries please contact veterans@rcgp.org.uk.

Course: Veterans' Health Hub | RCGP Learning

Improve health outcomes for veterans and benefit your practice

Resources for your practice and patients

Get Veteran Friendly accredited

The difference it makes: GP practice teams

Contact