What action is the Welsh Government taking to promote awareness of Veterans NHS Wales amongst healthcare professionals, veterans and their families?
We recently launched the Veteran Friendly GP Practice Accreditation Scheme for Wales, managed by Health Education and Improvement Wales. The scheme provides a module on veterans’ health and wellbeing needs, which includes mental health, and links to the Veterans’ NHS Wales service. For a practice to receive a certificate of accreditation, a named lead is asked to enrol, read the Armed Forces Covenant Duty Statutory Guidance and complete the module. This lead will then act as a source of information and promote veteran awareness to colleagues within the practice.
Our revised guidance on the Healthcare Priority / Special Consideration for Veterans / Ex-Armed Forces Personnel also provides information to GPs and practice staff. This contains a specific section, highlighting Veterans’ NHS Wales and describes the process of referral to the service.
Our network of Armed Forces Liaison Officers across Wales continues to provide much needed one-to-one services and support for veterans and their families, raising awareness and signposting to appropriate services, such as Veterans NHS Wales, where required.