The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (ROH) has been accredited as Veteran Aware.

Veteran Aware accreditation means the ROH takes account of the needs of the Armed Forces community, which exceeds 500,000 across the West Midlands. The ROH joins other local NHS trusts, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) and Birmingham & Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (BSMHT), in committing to support the needs of the Armed Forces community.

Jo Williams, Chief Executive at the ROH said: “We are thrilled to achieve the Veteran Aware accreditation. We commit to providing the best standards of care and support to the armed forces community, and gaining this accreditation means that colleagues and patients can have confidence we can meet their needs and provide appropriate support. I’m so proud of the ROH team for the work they have done and continue to do.”

The ROH worked with the MOD to create a safe and effective patient pathway for osseointegration surgery enabling military personnel who had experienced limb loss, to have complex surgery, followed by an intensive recovery and rehabilitation programme. As a specialist elective hub, the ROH is best placed to design and facilitate this pathway, providing lifechanging surgery and a positive impact on quality of life.

The accreditation process was overseen by the Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA).

The aim of Veteran Aware accreditation is to ensure that patients from the Armed Forces Community, including families, are not disadvantaged as a result when accessing healthcare. It does this by developing, sharing and driving the implementation of best practice, at the same time raising standards for everyone accessing NHS trusts in England.

Accreditation supports NHS trusts to pay due regard to the Armed Forces Covenant, a promise by the nation ensuring that those who serve, or who have served, in the armed forces, and their families, are not disadvantaged by their Armed Forces status.

VCHA Regional Lead David Wood said: “This is an NHS trust that has an excellent association with the military. The conditions they have set to establish their Veteran Aware programme are firm, comprehensive and I am confident will be a success. I am immensely proud of the work so far by the whole team.”   

VCHA Chairman, Prof Tim Briggs CBE, said: “More and more NHS trusts are seeing the value of Veteran Aware accreditations as seen through the numbers of trusts that are now accredited. We have now accredited 86% of NHS trusts across England, which is a testament both to the dedication of my team and to the wider NHS family who work tirelessly on behalf of the military community despite the many pressures they will be under. Well done all.”