DMC Healthcare Ltd
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 DMC Healthcare Ltd 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 DMC Healthcare Ltd 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
- Flexible Leave For Spouses
- UK Reservists
- Armed Forces Day
- Reserve Forces Day
- Discounts
- Armed Forces Charities
We also pledge the following:
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We will actively promote the Armed Forces Covenant across our organisation, including to our clinical workforce, operational teams and NHS partners.
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We will demonstrate visible support through internal communications, our website and marketing materials, including use of Armed Forces Covenant branding where appropriate.
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We will encourage senior clinical and operational leaders to act as advocates for the Armed Forces community within DMC Healthcare.
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We will work with the Career Transition Partnership and relevant networks to promote employment opportunities within DMC Healthcare.
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We will ensure our recruitment processes are inclusive and do not disadvantage candidates due to service-related mobility or career gaps.
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We will raise awareness within our workforce about the Armed Forces community, including the specific health and wellbeing needs of veterans and their families.
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We will appoint an Armed Forces Champion within DMC Healthcare to lead and coordinate Covenant-related activity.
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We will engage with NHS partners, Integrated Care Systems and local authorities to support joined-up approaches to veteran care.
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We will ensure that members of the Armed Forces community are not disadvantaged in accessing our services due to mobility, deployment or service-related circumstances.
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We will work with NHS commissioners to ensure our service delivery models are inclusive and equitable for veterans and Armed Forces families.
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As a provider of NHS services, we will support equitable access to high-quality care for veterans and Armed Forces families across all services we deliver.
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We will ensure that our clinical teams are aware of veteran-specific health pathways, including Op COURAGE, Op RESTORE and the Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance.
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We will promote identification of veteran status within patient pathways where appropriate, to ensure patients can be signposted to tailored services.
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We will support trauma-informed care approaches, recognising the potential physical and mental health impacts of military service.
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We will promote awareness for any NHS-recommended helplines (e.g; Combat Stress)
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We will work with NHS partners to support continuity of care for mobile Armed Forces families. Housing:
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Signposting patients to appropriate housing and homelessness support services where needs are identified.
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Working with NHS and local authority partners to ensure that housing-related issues impacting health are escalated appropriately.
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Recognising the impact of housing instability on health outcomes within our care pathways.
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We will promote training and development opportunities within DMC Healthcare to veterans and service leavers seeking careers in healthcare.
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We will support apprenticeships, clinical training pathways and return-to-practice programmes that may benefit members of the Armed Forces community.
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We will raise awareness among our staff of the challenges faced by service children and families, particularly in relation to mobility and continuity of care.
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Where appropriate, we will engage with local education and training partners to support skills development for veterans entering the healthcare workforce.
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We will support and participate in national and local remembrance activities.
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We will encourage staff participation in community and charitable initiatives that support the Armed Forces community.
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We will foster a culture of respect and recognition for those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces.
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We will thrive to become a ‘Veteran-Aware’ accredited by the Veteran Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA) following NHS England restructuring.
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We will explore opportunities to embed veteran awareness into our service design, including referral pathways, triage and patient engagement.
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Where appropriate, we will support the recording of veteran status to better understand and respond to the needs of this population.
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We will actively contribute to Integrated Care System priorities relating to veterans and inclusion health groups.
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We will position DMC Healthcare as a potential employer of choice for clinically trained service leavers (e.g. medics, healthcare assistants), supporting their transition into NHS-aligned roles.
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We will promote understanding of service-related mental health needs across our workforce, particularly in frontline services such as dermatology, gastroenterology and community-based care where holistic care is important.
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.