Veteran Aware NHS trusts

A group of 104 NHS providers have been accredited as exemplars of the best care for veterans, helping to drive improvements in NHS care for people who serve or have served in the UK armed forces and their families.

Veteran Aware trusts are leading the way in improving veterans’ care within the NHS, as part of the Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA).

Veteran Aware providers will:

  • provide leaflets and posters to veterans and their families explaining what to expect
  • train relevant staff to be aware of veterans’ needs and the commitments of the NHS under the Armed Forces Covenant
  • inform staff if a veteran or their GP has told the hospital they have served in the armed forces
  • ensure that members of the armed forces community do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens when accessing NHS services
  • signpost to extra services that might be provided to the armed forces community by a charity or service organisation in the trust
  • look into what services are available in their locality, which patients would benefit from being referred to

The 104 NHS trusts that have been accredited as ‘Veteran Aware’ are as follows:

  1. Airedale NHS Foundation Trust
  2. Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust
  3. Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
  4. Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust
  5. Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  6. Bolton NHS Foundation Trust
  7. Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust
  8. Cambridge University Hospitals
  9. Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
  10. Camden And Islington NHS Foundation Trust
  11. Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
  12. Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
  13. Cornwall Partnership NHS Trust
  14. Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust
  15. Cumbria Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust
  16. Derbyshire Community Health Service NHS Foundation Trust
  17. Devon Partnership NHS Trust
  18. Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  19. Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
  20. Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust
  21. East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust
  22. East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
  23. East London NHS Foundation Trust
  24. East of England Ambulance Service
  25. East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust
  26. Essex Partnership University Trust
  27. Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust
  28. Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
  29. Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  30. Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  31. Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust
  32. Guy’s And St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
  33. Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  34. Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
  35. Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust
  36. James Paget University Hospitals
  37. Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust
  38. Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  39. Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
  40. Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  41. Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust
  42. Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Trust
  43. Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Trust
  44. Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
  45. Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
  46. Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
  47. Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  48. North Bristol NHS Trust
  49. North Devon NHS Trust (Barnstaple)
  50. North East Ambulance Service
  51. North Tees and Hartlepool
  52. Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust
  53. North West Anglia Foundation Trust
  54. Northampton General NHS Trust
  55. North West Ambulance Service
  56. Northern Care Alliance NHS Trust
  57. Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust
  58. Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
  59. Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
  60. Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust
  61. Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust
  62. Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust
  63. Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust (Queen Alexandra Hospital)
  64. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust
  65. Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust
  66. Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust
  67. Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust
  68. Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
  69. Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
  70. Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust
  71. Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust
  72. Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
  73. South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust
  74. South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  75. South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust
  76. South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust
  77. South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
  78. Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust
  79. St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
  80. Stockport NHS Foundation Trust
  81. Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
  82. Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
  83. Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust
  84. The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust
  85. The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust
  86. The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
  87. Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust
  88. United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust
  89. University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
  90. University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust
  91. University Hospitals of Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
  92. University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust
  93. University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust
  94. University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
  95. University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust
  96. University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust
  97. University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
  98. University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust
  99. Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  100. West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust
  101. Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust
  102. Wye Valley NHS Trust
  103. Yeovil District Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  104. Yorkshire Ambulance Service

The 104 NHS trusts can also be viewed on the map below or on the Veteran Covenant Health Alliance website.

The recognition means that patients who have served in the UK armed forces will be cared for by frontline staff who have received training and education on their specific needs and who can also signpost them to other local support services.

How to become a Veteran Aware NHS trust

Our ambition is to accredit all NHS providers in England as Veteran Aware by March 2023. We continue to guide and support trusts to achieve accreditation. Accreditation involves providers sharing good practice and linking with local services for the Armed Forces community and raising staff awareness of the Armed Forces Covenant. The Armed Forces Bill, alongside NHS England’s commitment to the Armed Forces community forward view, aims to ensure that veterans’ healthcare is exemplary.

If you would like to know more, please email rnoh.vcha@nhs.net or visit www.veteranaware.nhs.uk

The introduction of the Veteran Aware standard for hospitals and the Veteran Friendly GP practices are really excellent initiatives. This is brilliant news for all and shows really effective working relationships between the MOD, the NHS and the charity sector. Great for all who serve and have served their nation.

Nicky Murdoch, Chair of the Armed Forces Public Patient Participation Involvement Group