Dairy Lane Care Centre (St Michael’s)
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, His 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 Dairy Lane Care Centre (St Michael’s) 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 Dairy Lane Care Centre (St Michael’s) 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 Service Veterans And Leavers
- UK Service Spouses And Partners
- UK Reservists
- Additional Leave For Reservists
We also pledge the following:
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Communications, engagement and outreach: We will develop links with local and regional Armed Forces and veteran organisations and seek opportunities for joint working, visits, social activities, remembrance events and community engagement. We will use our Veteran Champions to help maintain these links and to raise awareness among residents, families and staff. We will invite feedback from members of the Armed Forces Community connected with Dairy Lane and use this to develop our veteran-friendly approach. We will also share appropriate information about Armed Forces support services with residents, relatives and staff who may benefit from them.
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Health: We will recognise that veterans and Armed Forces families may have experiences and needs linked to Service life. With the person’s consent, Armed Forces status or family connection will be identified during admission and care planning where relevant, and important aspects of Service history, identity, memories and preferences will be reflected within person-centred care. Staff will be encouraged to develop awareness of the Armed Forces Community and to signpost residents and families to appropriate NHS, local author-ity, charitable or veteran-specific support where specialist advice or assistance is required. We will ensure that being a member of the Armed Forces Community does not result in disadvantage when accessing our care and support.
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Housing and care-home accommodation: As a residential care provider, our commitment relates specifically to access to care-home accommodation. We will ensure that veterans, Service personnel and Armed Forces families are not disadvantaged because of their Ser-vice when enquiring about or accessing our service. Where an Armed Forces connection is identified, we will consider the person’s individual circumstances, family relationships, community links and Service history as part of person-centred admission and transition planning. Where Dairy Lane cannot meet a person’s needs or has no available placement, we will provide clear information and, where appropriate, signpost families to relevant health, social care or Armed Forces support services.
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.