From service to civilian: a local perspective on how support for veterans evolves after discharge from service
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Healthwatch Kent and Healthwatch Medway undertook this project following a 2024 update by Kent Public Health to its Armed Forces Needs Assessment, which highlighted how previous engagement to understand veterans’ experiences of health and social care had been limited. 115 UK Armed Forces Veterans that live in Kent and Medway completed a survey.
The most frequently mentioned issue – difficulty in getting an appointment or seeing their GP – is a common experience within the wider population. However, by understanding that many veterans have a previous experience of healthcare access being fast and exclusive, a combination of signposting and reframing expectations would improve veteran experiences.
Within the veteran community, there is an understanding that there is a set of unique needs, particularly in regard to mental health, whereby specially trained staff or staff with their own experience of the Armed Forces could help achieve better health outcomes.
Some Veterans link employment as an important part of their health and wellbeing, with a lack of support received around post discharge employment. Consideration of integrating employment support into signposting provided around general veteran health and wellbeing could be considered to address this.
There is an awareness of the Armed Forces Covenant and Veteran Friendly accreditation, but with differing ideas of what accessing a ‘Veteran Friendly’ GP or other health service is like for a veteran. Better communication from the surgery to its veteran patients on how they benefit from the Veteran Friendly accreditation in the care they receive would help alleviate the difference in expectations.
Nepalese respondents and respondents who are disabled had notably worse experiences. These cohorts would be easy to identify upon discharge from the Armed Forces and in the spirit of the Armed Forces Covenant, pre-emptive measures put in place to mitigate potential negative experiences. The Needs Assessment should highlight that these cohorts currently experience an inequality.