GP veteran friendly practice accreditation
There are an estimated 24,007 veterans who reside within NE London, and an estimated 57,617 veterans and their families residing within the North east London ICB footprint. NHSE have invested heavily in bespoke referral pathways, both clinical and social to meet the specific needs of this cohort, and further commissioned the RCGP to produce a package that best supports practices understanding the specific needs of veterans and their families, enabling them to utilise those pathways. That package is the RCGP Veteran Friendly Practice Accreditation Programme.
Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF): NHSE and North East London ICB believe the single most effective action any GP practice can take to support veterans within their Practice Populations is to take the quick and simple step of signing their practice up to become Veteran Friendly Accredited.
- While some of England’s 1.74m veterans may have distinct health needs (52% of veterans will have a long-term illness, disability or infirmity, which is significantly higher than general adult population (35%)), research suggests that many may be reluctant to seek help from healthcare professionals, particularly if they feel they will not be understood – meaning many may well be silently struggling. At the same time, many (47%) of practices within England may be unaware of just how many of their patients are veterans.
- The RCGP Veteran Friendly Accreditation scheme is a quick-to-implement, free support programme for GP practices in England that will enable the practice team to easily identify, codify, understand, and support veterans and, where appropriate, refer them to specialist healthcare services designed especially for them.
- Evidence shows that becoming Veteran Friendly Accredited improves patient health outcomes and experiences and increases confidence and motivation of practice teams. It also could save practices’ time by reducing repeat appointments. In addition, CQC consider it a favourable quality marker.
- Getting accredited makes an enormous difference – and it takes less than 20 minutes, with practice managers able to play a key role in signing up their practice. The Practice will be asked to nominate a clinical lead, though that lead does not have to be a GP and can be any respected member of the clinical team. The Practice will receive an information pack that your clinical lead can read and share, and thereafter they will receive a quarterly email update.
- All practices are strongly urged to join the 2,624 practices (over 40% of the practices within NHS England) who have already become Veteran Friendly accredited – 99% of practices recommend it. Visit here learn more, or if you feel ready, sign up here.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Adrian Meredith MA
Regional Lead (London and South East)
RCGP Veteran Friendly Practice Accreditation Programme