War Pensioners: Other help you may be entitled to
Assistance with health care and treatment costs which may be available for eligible War Pensioners.
Access to Health Services, Priority Treatment for Veterans
There are currently no arrangements with Health Authorities in Northern Ireland. Their aim is that all patients should have access to treatment within a reasonable timescale.
All veterans in England, Scotland, and Wales are entitled to priority access to the National Health Service (NHS) care (including hospital, primary or community care) for conditions associated with their time within HM Armed Forces (service-related). This is always subject to clinical need and doesn’t entitle you to jump the queue ahead of someone with a higher clinical need.
Find out more about:
- priority access to NHS care in England for veterans with service related conditions
- priority access to NHS care in Scotland for veterans with service related conditions
- priority access to NHS care in Wales for veterans with service related conditions
Help with NHS charges
War pensioners living in the UK should be supplied with any aids, appliances or home nursing equipment certified to be necessary for the treatment or control of the condition(s) they get a War Pension for by the NHS or social services.
War Pensioners who would be expected to pay for prescriptions are issued with a prescription exemption certificate. This means they do not have to pay for items on a prescription which are for the condition(s) they get a War Pension for.
We can only consider payment for necessary, medically approved items if you have to pay them yourself.
Prescription Exemption Certificates
If you are awarded a War Pension and you are an English resident under the age of 60, we can send you a certificate to exempt you from NHS prescription charges for any condition that you get a War Pension for.
The certificate allows exemption from prescription charges providing the prescribed medication, aids, appliances or equipment are needed for the condition(s) you get a War Pension for. If you have paid prescription charges for the condition(s) you get a War Pension for between the date of your claim and the date of your award of War Pension we can consider a refund.
Please contact us for an up to date prescription exemption certificate.
Once you reach the age of 60, any medicine prescribed by a doctor is free anywhere in the UK. Prescription exemption certificates are not routinely issued to those still in service. Prescription exemption certificates are also not routinely issued for residents in Scotland and Wales, due to the abolition of charges and pharmacists in Northern Ireland don’t charge patients for prescriptions.
Dental treatment
A War Pensioner who needs dental treatment because of the condition(s) they get a War Pension for may be reimbursed the full cost of NHS treatment costs within the appropriate band (A,B or C). Where NHS treatment is approved by Veterans UK but, the war pensioner chooses to attend a private dentist, any reimbursement is restricted to the cost for the same treatment through the NHS.
Eye tests and glasses
We can help with the cost of eye tests and glasses if you need them because of the conditions we pay you a War Pension for. Ask your optician for a NHS voucher and send it with your receipt for the fee and glasses to the Veterans UK Treatment Group at the address listed below. We normally only refund the money for the eye test and the value of the voucher. If you think you may be entitled to help towards the cost of your glasses and eye tests, write to the Veterans UK Treatment Group at the address listed below.
Hearing aids
Veterans UK will not pay for hearing aids. In the UK, the supply of hearing aids is the responsibility of the NHS. There is no specific hearing impairment for which the NHS cannot supply a hearing aid.
Travelling expenses
The War Pension Scheme does not cover travel costs to go to NHS primary care providers such as a general practitioner, dentist or optician. However, we may consider travel costs for treatment for the condition(s) you get a War Pension for when treatment is required at a secondary care centre such as a hospital or clinic following referral from a primary care provider.
You may be eligible to claim for travelling costs for attending for secondary treatment at the nearest facility which can provide the required treatment or at a centre of excellence when a doctor has made the referral.
Wheelchairs
If you need a wheelchair, your doctor will send you to your local wheelchair centre. If you are getting a War Pensioners Mobility Supplement, you can use it to get a powered wheelchair. You can also get help from Motability.
Home nursing equipment
Home Nursing Equipment is an aid or equipment needed by a severely disabled war pensioner because of the condition(s) they get a War Pension for. These items should be provided by the NHS or social services. However, if there is likely to be delay in the supply of an item from the NHS or social services, Veterans UK may be able to provide assistance:
- if the equipment is essential, and
- there is a risk of worsening of the pensioner’s condition.
Home Adaptation Grant (HAG): England, Scotland and Northern Ireland
You can apply to your local council for assistance in adapting your home due to disability. If your local authority assistance does not cover the full cost of your home adaptation and the adaptation is required because of the condition(s) you get a War Pension for, you may be eligible to apply for a HAG. The maximum amount payable in respect of a HAG is £750.
Grants towards the cost of adapting homes are administered by the Local Authority Social Services Authority. It may be in a war pensioner’s best interest to approach social services to see if they can offer financial assistance. As most social service grants are means tested it is unlikely a war pensioner will qualify for the full cost of an adaptation. It is not necessary to confirm whether social services have been approached before considering eligibility for a HAG.
Home Adaptation Grant (HAG): Wales
As the Artificial Limb & Appliance Service (ALAS) in Wales holds separate budgets for War Pensioners, funding for HAGs’ is provided through the NHS. Applications should be referred, via the Veterans Welfare Service to:
The Posture and Mobility Service,
Croesnewydd Road,
Wrexham
LL3 7NT
Useful information
the names of the grants and the maximum amounts vary between the 4 home countries:
Disabled Facilities Grants in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Support for equipment and adaptations in Scotland
Convalescence care
Convalescence care supplies short term nursing care for severely disabled war pensioners who are in need of a break and unable to stay in an ordinary hotel or guest house because of the condition(s) they get a War Pension for.
You may be eligible for a convalescent break if you are a severely disabled pensioner who requires nursing care at the level provided by trained nursing staff in a registered nursing home, whilst away from home and the needs for that care are due to the condition(s) you get a War Pension for. When respite care is not available it can also be considered under convalescence care. Respite care is normally considered by the local authority and provides a break for the war pensioner’s regular carer,
Remedial treatment
Veterans UK may pay for a period of remedial treatment by providers such as Combat Stress, who have long experience in providing support for former service personnel dealing with issues like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression.
Remedial Treatment is for veterans who have a medical need for a short period of non-NHS provided treatment or support for a psychiatric condition which they get a War Pension for.
Information and useful services for veterans seeking mental wellbeing support.
If you need help
If you have any questions, contact Veterans UK.
Veterans UK Treatment Group
Veterans UK
Ministry of Defence
Norcross
Thornton Cleveleys
FY5 3WP
This guidance provides general information only. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information is accurate, but it is not a full and authoritative statement of the law. The scheme rules are the authoritative document.