Armed Forces Veteran Friendly Accredited GP Practice
Veterans, service leavers, and non-mobilised reservists
Find healthcare and welfare support for veterans, service leavers, non-mobilised reservists, and their family members and carers.
All veterans, service leavers, non-mobilised reservists, and their family members and carers can access a range of specialist healthcare and support created to provide treatment and care for many different problems.
Who counts as a veteran?
You are a veteran if you have served in the UK armed forces for at least 1 day.
Non-mobilised reservists are also regarded as veterans.
Tell us if you have served in the UK armed forces so we can add it to your medical record. This includes the:
British Army
Royal Navy
Royal Air Force
Royal Marines
Merchant Navy
Registering as soon as you leave the armed forces instead of waiting until you need treatment means you may be able to access treatment faster.
When you register with an NHS GP surgery, it’s important to give us any information you received from your military medical officer.
This will help your GP to better understand your health, including any health problems related to your service. It will also help make sure you’re referred to dedicated services for veterans, where appropriate.
It can sometimes be helpful to refer you to armed forces charities, who can often offer significant help and support. This will only be done with your agreement.
If you’re already registered with a GP but have not told them you served in the armed forces, make sure to let your GP or a member of the practice team know when you next speak to them.
This is important to do because it may be relevant to your health and care, now or in the future. It does not matter how long you served for or when you left the armed forces.
Do not worry about sharing information about your time in the armed forces. GPs, nurses and other people working in the NHS are bound by law to deliver a confidential service.
Veteran friendly GP surgeries and trusts
At this practice we have staff trained to be aware of health problems that veterans might face.
These are called veteran friendly GP practices and veteran aware NHS trusts.
They’re designed to better support you with your healthcare in many ways, including:
having medical staff with military healthcare backgrounds
having staff trained to treat health problems that commonly affect veterans
having knowledge of specialist NHS services designed specifically for members of the armed forces
Mental health and wellbeing support
Veterans and their families and carers can access dedicated mental health support services run by the NHS and mental health charities.
Support for physical health problems caused by service
There are NHS services dedicated to treating and supporting veterans who have physical health problems caused by their time in the armed forces.
Op RESTORE: The Veterans Physical Health and Wellbeing Service
Op RESTORE: The Veterans Physical Health and Wellbeing Service is an NHS service providing specialist care and treatment to veterans who have physical health problems as a result of their time in the armed forces.
Is Op RESTORE the same as the Veterans Trauma Network?
Integrated Personal Commissioning for Veterans (IPC4V)
Integrated Personal Commissioning for Veterans (IPC4V) is an approach to personalised care for veterans who have a long-term physical, mental or neurological health condition or disability.
Eligible veterans are supported by a personalised care plan they develop and agree together with local health and social care organisations. A range of military charities may also help in some cases.
There are many charities dedicated to providing support, advice and aid for veterans and their families.
Many of these charities provide a range of help, including disability support, rehabilitation, self-help programmes, accessing services and further financial support.
If you have been sexually assaulted or abused while in the armed forces or since you left the military, you can get help and advice from NHS services, including sexual assault referral centres (SARCs).