Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has been recognised for its continued work supporting the Armed Forces community.
The Trust has passed its one-year review as a Veteran Aware Trust, earning praise for the support it provides to veterans, reservists, serving personnel and military families.
Veteran Aware status is awarded to NHS trusts that make a series of pledges to the Armed Forces community. These include ensuring people are not disadvantaged when receiving care, training staff to understand veteran-specific needs, and supporting the Armed Forces as an employer.
Sussex Partnership has also developed a five-year Armed Forces Strategy. It is designed to support the promises of the Armed Forces Covenant, alongside the NHS Forward View and the Trust’s own five-year Organisational Strategy.
The review found the Trust has shown continuous improvement and a strong ongoing commitment to supporting the Armed Forces community.
Andy Stubbs, Armed Forces Covenant Lead Manager at the Trust and a reservist serving as a Major in the Royal Army Medical Service 256, Multi-Role Medical Regiment, said: " Sussex Partnership were one of the first mental health trusts to gain the Veteran Aware Award five years ago.
"We are very proud to continually improve our service delivery for the Armed Forces community, which is recognised by the Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance who independently monitor us. This can only be achieved by the hard work of all staff at the Trust."
Dr Jane Padmore, Chief Executive at Sussex Partnership, added: “I am so delighted and proud to retain the Veterans Aware status for another year. This demonstrates the continuous hard work and dedication of our staff to understand how we can better support the Armed Forces community.
“Being Veteran Aware is all about improving the healthcare that veterans receive. We have a range of support available through OpCOURAGE: The Veterans Mental Health Service. We’re also part of ‘Step into Health’, an initiative that helps ex-service personnel gain employment or work experience in the Trust, bringing a huge range of experience and transferrable skills to the NHS.
“We hope this gives veterans living in our local community confidence that our staff understand their needs and are committed to giving them the right support when they need it.”
More information is available at veteranaware.nhs.uk and sussexpartnership.nhs.uk/veterans.
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