Healthcare workers in England are to receive training on how best to support veterans, the Government has announced on the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
The new three-year £1.8m programme will see regional trainers work with GP practices and mental health services to help identify veterans, serving personnel and their families, and to provide ‘targeted’ care. It will also help ICBs deliver their statutory responsibilities under the Armed Forces Covenant.
Armed forces can often require specialist care for combat injuries and mental health support for conditions such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said.
However, many also struggle to navigate the civilian healthcare system and may not self-identify as veterans to NHS staff, which means they can miss out on services targeted to them.
As of April 2025, all NHS trusts became ‘veteran aware’, according to the DHSC, while many GP practices are also accredited as ‘veteran friendly’ by the RCGP. The training programme hopes to build on this and will start in October 2025 and will be completed by 2027/28.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said: ‘As we mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, we’re honouring our Armed Forces not just with words, but with action.
‘Too many veterans face a system that doesn’t fully understand their needs – that changes today.
‘This new training programme will help NHS staff across England give our veterans the personalised care they deserve. Through our Plan for Change the NHS will deliver for those who have delivered for Britain.’
In May 2024, building work begun on a health complex in North Yorkshire which aims to bring integrated health services to the military and civilian communities in Catterick and wider Richmondshire.
Two armed forces hubs also opened in March last year in Somerset, to help the armed forces community find the services and support they need.
