NHS Arden and Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit
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 NHS Arden and Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit 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 NHS Arden and Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit 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
- Armed Forces Day
- Reserve Forces Day
- UK Wounded, Injured And Sick
We also pledge the following:
Promoting we are an Armed Forces friendly organisation in all that we do through: Regular network meetings Use of external speakers to publicise Armed Forces matters Our external website, to our suppliers, customers and the wider public Dedicated intranet pages for existing staff Employment support to members of the Armed Forces Community: Actively reaching out to the Armed Forces Community, through insight days and by using the Step into Health recruitment platform. Communications, engagement, and outreach: Establishing an internal Armed Forces Network within our organisation, to enable staff members with an Armed Forces connection to meet and support one another and provide feedback to us as an organisation so we can continue to grow our support offering. Raising awareness of Health and healthcare AGEM CSU have recently started working with the NHSE (Armed Forces) team and the Royal College of General Practitioners to support the Veteran Friendly GP Practice Accreditation scheme Veterans’ healthcare toolkit: Veteran friendly GP practice accreditation (rcgp.org.uk). Actively signposting and promoting dedicated healthcare services for members of the Armed Forces Community, such as Op COURAGE in England. Raising awareness through our armed forces community, signposting members to our internal health and wellbeing improvement programmes, which include, employee assistance programme (EAP), mental health first aiders, wellbeing champions, a variety of networks and bespoke health and wellbeing activities. Civic responsibilities: Organise, facilitate, promote and/or take part in remembrance and other ceremonial activities.
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.