At a time of national remembrance, Arden & GEM is delighted to announce that its work with NHS England and the RCGP is delivering substantial increases to the RCGP Veteran Friendly Accreditation Programme, meaning that over 1.8 million veterans now have the opportunity to be seen by their GP and where necessary, achieve early access to physical and mental health services commissioned by NHS England.
Since January 2023, our specialist Primary Care team, made up of highly experienced military veterans and data analytics support, has increased the initial coverage from 28% of GP Practices being accredited, to over 98% of Primary Care Networks now having at least one GP Practice accredited. But there is still more work to be done, and both the RCGP and NHSE urge practices to become veteran friendly accredited.
The Veteran Friendly Accreditation scheme provides an opportunity to improve health outcomes for veterans and benefit individual GP practices. It enables practices to easily identify, understand and support veterans and, where appropriate, refer them to dedicated healthcare services.
If you would like to find out how we can support your GP practice or PCN to achieve Veteran Friendly Accreditation, enabling you to better serve your population while also delivering benefits for your practice, please click here.
We are very proud to work with, support and serve our military community and as a veteran myself, I am well aware of the importance of more Veterans getting access to health services, and the RCGP Veteran Friendly Accreditation Programme provides an important step in this journey.
Ian Razzell, Associate Director Primary Care Services, Armed Forces Veteran