Trust recognised for its support of armed forces community
We have received the Silver Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) award from the Ministry of Defence. The award recognises how the Trust supports the armed forces community.
The Defence ERS offers awards at 3 levels: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Employers also need to have signed the Armed Forces Covenant.
The Trust signed the Armed Forces Covenant in December 2021. It achieved the Bronze award in 2022.
Chief Medical Officer, Adrian Flynn is the Trust's armed forces network executive sponsor. He said:
“The achievement of the Silver award is a positive step forward for the Trust. We are working hard to always offer prompt access to the right treatment and support to people from the armed forces.
"Through our involvement with the scheme, we have made positive changes to how we recruit. In response to feedback, we now offer assessment days and guarantee interviews for candidates from the armed forces who meet a role's core criteria. We have improved links with reserve and cadet units. We also offer paid leave for training. I hope this helps us retain colleagues with past or present links to the armed forces and allows us to benefit from the wealth of experience and expertise they bring to the NHS.”
The Trust employs almost 70 people with a connection to the armed forces. This includes veterans, reservists, volunteers, or family members.
The Silver award builds on the wider work of the Trust to support this unique community. Both Camborne Redruth and Helston community hospitals proudly display Veteran Aware plaques. This demonstrates how they are going above and beyond to support the armed forces community. Falmouth and Newquay community hospitals are now working towards accreditation. The Trust intends to build on these achievements across all its community hospitals.
The Trust is now working towards the Gold ERS award.