As the NHS celebrated its 75-year anniversary on 5^th July 2023, Armed Forces Covenant leads from the VPPP programme convened at Newmarket Racecourse for the inaugural NHS East of England Armed Forces community conference back in May.

The establishment of the NHS 75 years ago brought about a revolution in healthcare, transforming the lives of countless individuals across the UK. Prior to its inception, healthcare was often unaffordable for the working class, leading to widespread health disparities. The NHS provided free medical care, including doctor visits, hospital stays, and medications, ensuring that everyone had access to essential healthcare services.

Responsibility for Armed Forces healthcare in England is split between the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the NHS. Health care services for regular serving personnel, those serving overseas and in some cases their families are provided by Defence Medical Services (DMS), part of the MOD. With NHS integrated care boards (ICBs) responsible for veterans and families registered with an NHS GP. In addition, NHS England commissions some bespoke services for veterans.

In 2021 NHS England published nine commitments to improve healthcare services for the armed forces community. These nine commitments set out what NHS England will do, in partnership with the MOD, Office for Veterans’ Affairs (OVA), Armed Forces charities and the wider NHS, to improve the care and support for this population.

The day-long conference included a jam-packed agenda with representatives from all of these organisations. The goal of the day was to increase awareness and understanding of the range and location of services for the Armed Forces community in the East of England, and better support to those serving, reservists, veterans and all their families.  

The areas that were covered during the day included:

Section 1: Research and funding

Speakers showcased the latest research; what funding is available and what delegates, including the voluntary sector can do to access more funding for local services. Topics discussed include the ongoing and future plans within the NHS for supporting serving families and the Veterans Community, ongoing veterans’ studies which number over 25, and details of funding, which last year provided funding for 342 projects supporting the Armed Forces community.

Section 2: The NHS

Delegates heard an overview of NHS services, including specialist commissioned services, such as Op COURAGE – the veterans’ mental health and well-being services.

Section 3: Ministry of Defence

The third section of the day enabled attendees to learn about some of the Ministry of Defence services that are available to support service leavers to return to civilian life, as well as some new initiatives, such as the NHSE Single Point of Contact for serving families.

Section 4: Voluntary sector

Led by The Bridge for Heroes, the voluntary session of the day explored the great work happening in the East of England and looked at key issues such as sustainability and collaboration to improve local service delivery. This was followed by representatives from voluntary organisations: Acute Hospital and Defence Medical Welfare Service, The Bridge for Heroes and Combat 2 Coffee, all of whom delivered inspiring talks and showcased the important work that each organisation does to support veterans.

Section 5: Local authorities

Speakers shared information on the roles and responsibilities of local authorities and the important role they play in bringing the Armed Forces community together. Delegates learned about new collaborative opportunities to work with veterans across the criminal justice system including Op NOVA, a specialist service dedicated to help veterans.
Representatives spoke about a variety of topics including, work being carried out on suicide prevention, work to develop a veterans’ missing persons protocol, ongoing work to support veterans in custody and details of Op NOVA, which provides life-changing support to veterans who have touched the criminal justice system and aim to stop the ‘downwards spiral’ experienced by some veterans after leaving prisons.

Section 6: Employments

The final section of the day explained how the current employment system works for veterans and explored what future employment opportunities there might be for them across the East of England. Representatives from Career Transition Service and Step into Health provided insight into the work they do to support discharged veterans on their journey back into work.

It was fantastic to see so many representatives from key sectors and organisations join together, make contacts and plans to ensure that the Armed Forces community can access the health, care and social support they need and deserve.