Birkdale Park Nursing Home
We, the undersigned, commit to honour the Armed Forces Covenant and support the Armed Forces Community. We recognise the value Serving Personnel, both Regular and Reservists, Veterans and military families contribute to our business and our country.
The Armed Forces Covenant
An enduring covenant between the people of the United Kingdom, Her Majesty’s Government and all those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces of the Crown and their families
The first duty of Government is the defence of the realm. Our Armed Forces fulfil that responsibility on behalf of the Government, sacrificing some civilian freedoms, facing danger and, sometimes, suffering serious injury or death as a result of their duty. Families also play a vital role in supporting the operational effectiveness of our Armed Forces. In return, the whole nation has a moral obligation to the members of the Naval Service, the Army and the Royal Air Force, together with their families. They deserve our respect and support, and fair treatment.
Those who serve in the Armed Forces, whether Regular or Reserve, those who have served in the past, and their families, should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services. Special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given most such as the injured and the bereaved.
This obligation involves the whole of society: it includes voluntary and charitable bodies, private organisations, and the actions of individuals in supporting the Armed Forces. Recognising those who have performed military duty unites the country and demonstrates the value of their contribution. This has no greater expression than in upholding this Covenant.
Section 1: Principles of the Armed Forces Corporate Covenant
1.1 We Birkdale Park Nursing Home will endeavour in our business dealings to uphold the key principles of the Armed Forces Covenant, which are:
- no member of the Armed Forces Community should face disadvantage in the provision of public and commercial services compared to any other citizen;
- and in some circumstances that special treatment may be appropriate especially for the injured or bereaved.
Section 2: Demonstrating our commitment
2.1 Birkdale Park Nursing Home recognises the value serving personnel, reservists, veterans and military families bring to our business. We will seek to uphold the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant, by pledging to the following:
- Armed Forces Friendly
- UK Cadets
- Armed Forces Day
- Reserve Forces Day
- Discounts
- Armed Forces Charities
We also pledge the following:
Promoting the Armed Forces: Promote the Armed Forces, veterans contribution and the importance of the Armed Forces in society via social media. Promote the stories and individual tales of service for the public to recognise their contribution. Display veterans and their service within the care home. Hold specific events and days of recognition that acknowledge veteran service. Specifically, D Day, VE Day, VJ Day, Remembrance Day/Weekend and other days of significance eg Regimental days of veter-ans who may be cared for within Birkdale Park. Offer work placements, insight days, mentoring schemes and/or guaranteed interview schemes to Vet-erans seeking employment. Support the employment of Service spouses, partners and dependants. Offer additional (paid/unpaid) annual leave to Cadet Force Adult Volunteers to help them carry out their training requirement. Maintain existing veteran networks, friendships, alumni and regimental or Service bonds for those who enter Birkdale Park. Offer insight days to older Cadets looking for apprenticeships and further education opportunities. · Promote the Armed Forces Covenant, the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme and your support for the Armed Forces Community to your staff, customers/service users, supply chains and the wider pub-lic. Support or promote Armed Forces events, such as Armed Forces Day/Week, Reserves Day, the Poppy Appeal and Remembrance activities [See above] Use the Covenant and Employer Recognition Scheme logos in your communications and marketing. Create a dedicated Armed Forces page on your website. Establish an internal Armed Forces Network within your organisation, to enable staff members with an Armed Forces connection to meet and support one another and provide feedback to you as an organi-sation. Appoint an Armed Forces Champion within your organisation to act as a focal point for organising and promoting support for the Armed Forces Community. Engage with and support local Armed Forces charities, for example by supporting their fundraising ac-tivities, eg RBL, SSAFA etc. Run, facilitate or promote support networks (such as coffee mornings, breakfast clubs) for veterans and other members of the Armed Forces Community. Engage with any local Armed Forces presence for example, local Army units, reservist units, RAF sta-tions and/or naval bases. Develop relationships and work collaboratively with other organisations supporting the Covenant and the Armed Forces Community in your locality/region. Commercial Birkdale Park will consider commercial discounts for members of the Armed Forces. Ensure the Armed Forces Community has fair access to your services and is not put at a disadvantage by their service, for example as a result of their high mobility. Health and healthcare Take part in and/or promote awareness-raising schemes, such as veteran-friendly accreditation for GP practices and the Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance. Ensure that the veterans history and background is suitably reflected in their own specific care plan for all staff to refer. Ensure available dedicated healthcare services for members of the Armed Forces Community, such as Op COURAGE in England, are signposted and promoted. Civic Responsibility Birkdale Park to actively take part and promote civic events that recognise veterans, such as remem-brance parades, other civic events and Annual Forces Appreciation Days.
2.2 We will publicise these commitments through our literature and/or on our website, setting out how we will seek to honour them and inviting feedback from the Service community and our customers on how we are doing.