The Airedale NHS Foundation Trust has successfully completed its three-year re-accreditation, following a formal review by the Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA).
The VCHA is a group of NHS healthcare providers in England committed to providing the best standards of care for the Armed Forces community, based on the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant. The Trust has received a letter from the VCHA’s patron, General Lord Dannatt and its national lead, Prof Tim Briggs CBE saying:
“Your continued hard work demonstrating the NHS’s commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant This accreditation recognises your work identifying and sharing best practice across the NHS as an exemplar of the best standards of care for the Armed Forces community.
“Thank you for your work to date, and for your continuing support to drive these improvements across the NHS.”
The Trust was originally accredited in 2019. Re-accreditation means that it has been able to demonstrate its continued and ongoing commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant principles and commitments in helping to drive the best practice in the treatment of members of the Armed Forces community.
The covenant is a promise by the nation to treat fairly those who serve, or who have served, in the Armed Forces, including their families. Its aim is to develop, share and drive the implementation of best practice that will improve armed forces veterans’ care, while at the same time raising standards for everyone across the NHS. Airedale NHS FT Chief Executive Foluke Ajayi said:
“I’m proud of our Veteran Aware status. It reflects the work we do across all our services to support and care for former and serving members of our Armed Forces.
“The accreditation also demonstrates that we recognise the skills and experience of our own staff members who are veterans, and those who serve as reservists. We strongly support the employment of the Armed Forces community in the NHS and we listen to our Armed Forces colleagues here at Airedale to understand how we can best support their needs.”
