A HOSPITAL in North Cornwall has been praised for its commitment to supporting the Armed Forces community.

Last week, Stratton Community Hospital was awarded a plaque which officially recognises the hospital as ‘Veteran Aware’.

In June it was announced that the trust had been re-accredited as Veteran Aware by the Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA).

To achieve this, the hospital has implemented a range of initiatives to improve support for patients from the Armed Forces community.

Veteran Aware status means that those from the Armed Forces community have access to healthcare. The aim is to raise standards and improve access to support for veterans. This supports NHS and independent healthcare providers to uphold the Armed Forces Covenant. This is now enshrined in law through the Armed Forces Act (2021).

The covenant is the nation's promise to the Armed forces community that they will be supported when they need to be. Support can range from medical care, employment, education, or housing.

Last week, a plaque was unveiled by veteran Steve Hayes at Stratton Community Hospital.

In a speech, chief medical officer Adrian Flynn said: “It is about getting people trained and aware so that we can achieve veterans’ awareness as a hospital. This means that when people come in for care of any kind, they’ll be asked ‘have you served?’

“There’s an opportunity for people to get care and support they may not have known that they were entitled to.

“It’s important that that we, as the NHS and Trust, live up to veteran awareness status. We have to keep spreading this awareness across all our community hospitals. Make it something that we do as our day-to-day business.”

Also in attendance were veterans Pete Leatherbarrow and Sharon Wilton. Pete is now a minor injuries practitioner at Stratton, and Sharon is a progress co-ordinator at Stratton and Launceston Community Hospital.