Help your GP help Veterans

MariaPCC 2 May 2024

This article was published in The Journal of the Forces Pension Society publication Pennant

We interview Royal Navy Veteran Andy Cave to find out how he has supported the Veteran-friendly GP practices accreditation scheme administered by the Royal College of General Practitioners and NHS England, which helps GP teams to identify, understand and support Veterans.

Andy Cave joined the Royal Navy in 1981 and deployed to the Falklands on HMS Hermes the following year. After time spent on HMS Danae and with the Devonport Field Gun Crew, he left the Navy in 1986 for the civil service. He was medically retired in 2015.

How did you hear about the Veteran-friendly GP scheme?

A few years ago, I was watching the news one evening when I saw a piece about the accreditation scheme, which was interesting and extremely moving. After doing some research, I felt compelled to help promote it.

How did you get involved in persuading practices to accredit?

In 2021, I started emailing practices in the Shropshire area that were not already accredited, asking if they might consider joining the scheme. Sixteen agreed. Following this success, I went on to contact all non-accredited GP practices in a further 18 areas. As of December 2023, this has resulted in an additional 168 GP surgeries becoming accredited.

I couldn’t have achieved this alone, and I am extremely grateful to the Royal College of General Practitioners’ Veterans champions for the amazing support I have received.

Recently I decided to contact some of the newly accredited practices to ask if they might consider signing the Armed Forces Covenant – 10 practices agreed to. Some thought they had already signed the Covenant as part of the application process to become a Veteran-friendly practice. Last year the Welsh Government launched a similar scheme for Veterans and, living close to the border, I decided to contact practices in Wales. This has resulted in two more practices gaining accreditation. I have received a lot of feedback from practices saying how proud they are to be accredited so they can better serve Veterans. Many have said that since becoming accredited, they have been able to help Veterans in ways they weren’t able to previously.

“The difference this GP scheme makes to Veterans can be lifesaving”.

What tips can you give to others keen for their local GP to sign up?

Don’t delay – contact your practice to find out if they are accredited and encourage them to sign up. You may need to contact them many times, but it’s well worth it – the difference this makes to Veterans can be lifesaving. Accredited GPs give Veterans the confidence to come forward to ask for help because they know their clinician will understand their issues and the resources available – for example, the Op COURAGE Veterans mental health and wellbeing service. I know from personal experience that many Veterans suffer in silence.

We often don’t know where to start seeking help and might feel nobody understands what we’re going through. Seeing this scheme advertised in the practice changes that perception and is a vital first step on the road to recovery.

Top tips

1. Contact your local GP practice and find out if they are Veteran-friendly accredited.
2. If they are not, encourage them to sign up and share the information on the Royal College of General Practitioners website.
3. Be polite and courteous. It may sound obvious, but practice staff work incredibly hard and are under a lot of pressure.
4.Make it as easy as possible for the practice staff and provide all the links and information they need.
5. If possible, tell them why this is important to you; a personal story can be really powerful.

To find out more about the Veteran-friendly accreditation scheme for GP practices visit https://elearning.rcgp.org.uk/mod/book/view.php?id=12533&chapterid=285

To find out more about healthcare for the Armed Forces community, including Veterans, go to https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/armed-forces-community/

PCC and NHS Arden and Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit will be holding a webinar on 26 June at 13.00 to provide more information to practices, primary care networks and integrated care boards on the Veteran-friendly accreditation scheme for GP practices.

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