Here at Havelock Grange Practice we have been accredited by the Royal College of General Practitioners as a 'Veteran Friendly' Practice.

The RCGP is working alongside NHS England to accredit practices as ‘Veteran Friendly’. This is a process where practices are required to meet specified criteria and provide evidence that they are supportive of veterans’ healthcare.

To receive accreditation our practice is required to:

1. Ask patients registering with a surgery if they have ever served in the British Armed Forces.
2. Code it on the GP computer system, using the term ‘Military Veteran’.
3. Have a clinical lead for veterans in the surgery. This should be a registered healthcare professional but could be a nurse or paramedic instead of a GP.
4. Eligible practices should normally have a CQC ‘good’ rating or higher.

Please see below a link which provides information on how the NHS can help the armed forces community

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/armed-forces-community/ 

The Veterans Gateway can provide advice and support for veterans and their families.  For further information please see here https://www.veteransgateway.org.uk/ 

Details of the Armed Forces Associations in Hartlepool are outlined below in the link below:

https://www.hartlepool.gov.uk/info/20004/council_and_democracy/580/armed_forces_support/9