Armed Forces Covenant

At Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust we are proud to be committed to the Armed Forces Covenant. We endeavour to ensure that those who serve or who have served in the armed forces are treated with fairness and respect.

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Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust commits to embed and uphold the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant. We work to ensure improved health outcomes for serving personnel, reservists, and veterans who are patients in our Trust.

Those who serve in the Armed Forces, whether Regular or Reserve, those who have served in the past, and their families, should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial service. Special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given most such as, the injured and the bereaved.

As an organisation, we recognise the value serving personnel, reservists, and veterans can bring to NHS roles.

As a signatory to the Covenant, we:

Promote that we are a ‘Forces Friendly’ organisation.
Strive to support the employment of serving personnel
Support our employees who are members of the Reserve Forces, including by accommodating their training and deployment where possible.

We are now Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance accreditted. The VCHA seeks to showcase high quality veterans’ healthcare and support NHS trusts to learn from each other by sharing what works. This includes committing to the Armed Forces Covenant, raising awareness among staff of veterans’ healthcare needs, and establishing clear links with service charities and local support providers.

Support for our armed forces community

All members of our armed forces community, including 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.

You can see some of these specialist services listed below:

Op RESTORE: The Veterans Physical Health and Wellbeing Service is an NHS service that provides specialist care and treatment to veterans who have physical health problems as a result of their time in the Armed Forces.

Op COURAGE: is an NHS mental health specialist service designed to help serving personnel due to leave the military, reservists, armed forces veterans and their families.

Op FORTITUDE: is a referral system that has been created to help ex-service personnel find housing support.

Op NOVA: provides support for veterans who are in contact with the justice system, enabling them to access the services they need.

Combat Stress: Provides clinical treatment and support for veterans from the British Armed Forces, with a focus on those with complex mental health issues.

Veterans Gateway: 24/7 information and support for veterans and their families

Help for Heroes: Supporting veterans and their families by giving life-changing support, no matter when or where they served.

Employing Veterans

There are several staff members who are active members of the Armed Forces and Reservists or Armed Forces Veterans. The NHS and our Trust recognises the transferable skills and cultural values that the Armed Forces community develop during their time in the Armed Forces environment and how they are compatible with those required within NHS roles.

Mid Cheshire NHS Hospitals Foundation Trust has signed up to the 'Step into Health' national programme, designed to help all ex-Armed Forces personnel, veterans and their spouse/partner to join the NHS and we are a member of the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) of which we proudly hold a Gold Award.

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