Veterans

— We are a Veteran Friendly surgery

— What is a veteran?

— Mental health support

— Patient charter

We are a Veteran Friendly surgery

We are proud to be an accredited Veteran Friendly GP surgery and to support our Armed Forces community.

As a Veteran Friendly GP surgery, we:

• have a clinical lead for veteran health who is supported by the whole surgery to improve veteran health services
• ask patients if they have served when registering to help identify veteran patients
• support veteran patients to access dedicated health services
• undertake regular training and development to meet the health commitments of the Armed Forces Covenant and better understand the needs of veteran patients

If you are a veteran patient, please let us know that you have served so that we can make sure that we understand your health needs.

More than 1,300 surgeries are now Veteran Friendly accredited, and a University of Chester study revealed that 99% of accredited surgeries would recommend the accreditation. To find out more about the Veteran Friendly accreditation scheme, visit www.rcgp.org.uk/veterans.

The Veteran Friendly accreditation scheme is run by the Royal College of General Practitioners in partnership with NHS England and NHS Improvement.

What is a veteran?

You are a veteran if you have served in the UK armed forces for at least 1 day.

Non-mobilised reservists are also regarded as veterans.

If you are a mobilised reservist registered with Defence Medical Services (DMS), find information about accessing NHS healthcare while in active service.

Mental health support

Mental health problems are common and can affect anyone, including veterans, serving personnel, reservists, and their families. It’s important to get help and support if you or someone you know has mental health problems.

For more information on mental health support, including how to access the Op COURAGE mental health and well-being service, please click here to visit the veteran mental health NHS website.

Patient charter

As an accredited surgery, we have a charter published by the Royal College of General Practitioners which explains what you can expect from us. Please click here to view the charter.