In this section...

  1. How we make decisions
  2. Our priorities
  3. Policies and procedures
  4. What we spend and how we spend it
  5. Who we are and what we do
  6. Work for us

Armed Forces Covenant

The Trust is proud to have signed the Armed Forces Covenant in December 2021. We are committed to supporting the Armed Forces community.

The Armed Forces Covenant Duty places a legal responsibility on organisations to pay due regard to the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant.

The key principles of the covenant are that:

  • no member of the armed forces community should face disadvantage when accessing local services
  • in some circumstances special treatment may be appropriate, especially for the injured and bereaved

The Covenant serves as a promise to those who serve or have served and their families that they will be treated fairly and will be welcomed as patients and/or employees at the Trust.

Armed Forces Covenant logo

As chief medical officer, it is so important for me that our patients have good care, and that our staff feel valued for the work that they do.

Supporting the Armed Forces Network and becoming Veterans Aware is our way of pledging to meet the standards of the Armed Forces Covenant for those very important people in our community who have served in the armed forces and their families. We will not disadvantage those people who come to the Trust seeking help, or who come here as employees.

Like many other people at the Trust, I have relatives, friends and colleagues who have served in the forces and it makes me feel proud to be the executive sponsor of this work.

Adrian Flynn, executive sponsor of the Armed Forces Network

Veteran Aware

We recognise the value that serving personnel, reservists, veterans, and military families can bring to our organisation. We believe their unique and valuable skills are transferable to healthcare and can contribute to the Trust’s success.

We are delighted to have been awarded the Ministry of Defence Employer Recognition Scheme Bronze Award. We look forward to applying for Silver Award in the next round of applications (early 2024).

As a Bronze Award holder, we:

  • inform our workforce of our positive support for the Armed Forces community at all induction days
  • offer 5 working days of contracted hours paid leave for Reservists in order to pursue training
  • have an Armed Forces Community Staff Network, which works across the 3 NHS organisations in Cornwall to provide peer support for veterans, reservists, cadet force adult volunteers and relatives of serving personnel

Veterans Aware logo

Providing care

All veterans are entitled to priority access to NHS care, including hospital, primary or community care, for conditions associated with their time within the armed forces (service-related). This is subject to clinical need and does not entitle you to jump the queue ahead of someone with a higher clinical need.

If the service you're dealing with is unaware of priority treatment, you're actively encouraged to tell them about it. Ensure you have told them you have served or are a member of the Armed Forces Community. This is so that our staff can work with you to provide the most appropriate care.

Working for the Trust

We welcome applications from members of the Armed Forces Community. Our Recruitment and Resourcing Team attend Armed Forces Community events to talk about how skills can transfer to life in the NHS.

We will be using the Step into Health programme to:

  • further improve our recruitment practices
  • build a relationship with the Career Transition Partnership
  • use the Step into Health candidate system to record interactions with potential candidates and refer between NHS organisations as required

For more information about the Armed Forces Community Staff network, email the NHS Cornwall Armed Forces Network.