Supporting veterans in acute hospital settings
The Trust awarded almost £2 million in 2021 to help support our most vulnerable veterans in acute hospital settings throughout the UK.
Jointly funded through the Covenant Fund and NHS England, this much-needed funding was available to hospitals to pilot better ways of supporting these veterans and their families when they are most in need.
The Supporting Armed Forces in Acute Hospital Settings programme made 16 awards in total, across the UK, with hospitals creating a role of Armed Forces Advocate to provide additional support and co-ordinate services and organisations’ involvement.
But what does this mean for those veterans receiving hospital care, including end of life care, and those supporting them?
East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust includes five hospitals and has seen more than 460 veterans this year to date. Admissions primarily came from patients with the predominant clinical risks documented at referral for those patients admitted as medical (60%), Surgical (22%), mental health (10%) and Social (8%). They told us about their experience so far…
Patient focused support
“We are very patient focused. In 2020, a veteran we saw in our Emergency Department, and who was then discharged, later took his own life. We knew something needed to change and so began our journey to ensuring better services for veterans.”
The Trust explains that 10% of all the veterans they see need further support outside of their hospital care.
“We’re connecting with a host of other organisations to support vulnerable veterans that present in our hospital setting, such as Healthier Heroes, Veterans in Communities and numerous Veterans’ Breakfast Clubs.”
The Trust has both an Armed Forces Veteran Lead and an Armed Forces Veterans’ Advocate. Each patient visited by the Advocate/Lead is given a personalised information pack. This includes how the Trust can support them whilst in their care, plus external veteran organisations/charities who can provide support beyond their hospital treatment. This pack is tailored to each individual’s needs and geographical location.
Building partnerships
Down in Gloucestershire, the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is continually forging strong working relationships with a range of partners including county and local councils, other healthcare providers, military establishments and other military charities.
They have employed two Armed Forces Advocates, both veterans, thanks to the funding received. The advocates are supported by a strong cohort of 25 champions. Since April this year, the Trust has identified more than 680 veterans, with 452 requiring a stay of over 24 hours. 375 of the veterans were seen by the advocates.
“We’ve developed a quick and simple referral system to our Armed Forces Advocates. Ensuring we ask an Armed Forces question on admission to hospital is now being achieved more frequently.”
The Trust has had a successful start to the project with the Armed Forces Advocates having attended a range of events to promote the Trust and the work they are doing. They are now looking forward to expanding the service over the coming years.
Ongoing evaluation
As part of the Acute Hospitals programme’s ongoing evaluation of its own impact, the Armed Forces Advocates record information about their service users using an online portal. The data is still building, but already from across the funded trusts we can see that:
- the average age of the veterans being supported so far is 76 years
- after training, 78% of staff within the trusts felt their knowledge of the Armed Forces was good or very good (compared to only 52% before training).
Ensuring there are specific, veteran-focused roles within acute hospital settings is vital in providing the right care and support for those most vulnerable veterans. The idea that veterans can begin to trust that there is someone within the hospital setting that understands their needs and can offer the right kind of support is what this programme is all about.
Find out more
We’ll continue to highlight the positive work coming from these innovative pilots as the programme continues. We encourage you to take a look at the full list of funded hospital trusts and find out more about what provision may be available in your area.