The Bell Surgery has been successfully accredited as a Veteran Friendly Practice. This means that we have got the training and resources to give Veterans the best possible care. There were several criteria for achieving accreditation. The first was to have a nominated clinical lead who would be responsible for keeping up to date with training and resources related to Veterans. In our case, Dr Waterman has kindly stepped up to be our lead. We are also required to ask new patients if they have ever served in the military, and to code Military Veterans correctly, so that they can be linked to Veteran-specific resources.
We have identified 19 Veterans that are registered as patients at the Surgery. 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’. Younger veterans might refer to themselves as ‘ex-forces’, in the belief that a veteran is someone who fought in the First / Second World War. We encourage anyone who comes under this definition to come forward if they haven’t already, so we can offer more tailored care.
There are many healthcare resources available specifically for Veterans. It has been recognized that Veterans can be more reluctant to come forward with a health problem. This may be because they feel like they should deal with it themselves, or that they don’t think a GP will be able to help them. This is one of the reasons why these tailored resources have been developed:
The mental health service for Veterans is called Op COURAGE.
How Op COURAGE can help
Op COURAGE can help you and your family with a range of support and treatment, including:
- helping you transition from military to civilian life by providing mental health care with Defence Medical Services (DMS)
- helping you recognise and treat early signs of mental health problems, as well as more advanced mental health conditions and psychological trauma
- providing support and treatment for substance misuse and addictions
- helping you to access other NHS mental health services if you need them, such as finding an NHS talking therapies service and eating disorder services
- liaising with charities and local organisations to support your wider health and wellbeing needs, such as help with housing, relationships, finances and employment
- supporting armed forces families affected by mental health problems, including helping them to access local services
The Veterans Physical Health and Wellbeing Service is called Op RESTORE.
How Op RESTORE can support you
Op RESTORE can support you by:
- providing personalised treatment within the NHS
- treating you through military and civilian clinicians who understand the military environment and specialise in the type of physical health problems you have
- helping families and carers of veterans with physical health problems access appropriate support services
- working closely with many organisations, including GP surgeries, specialist NHS services, and military and non-military charities
There are several other services available. Information can be found by contacting the Surgery or going to the NHS website:
For more information on how this can help Veterans, read this leaflet:
The Surgery is committed to abiding by this Veteran- Friendly Patient Charter: