Care homes achieve Veteran Friendly Status ahead of Armed Forces Day
As we mark Armed Forces Day (28 June), we celebrate Sanctuary Care homes that have been awarded Veteran Friendly Framework Status (VFF).
On a day dedicated to showing support for the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community, Sanctuary Care celebrates another of its homes achieving VFF status.
To date seven homes in the East Midlands region have been awarded the VFF status, in recognition of their dedication to supporting the practical, emotional and social needs of the armed forces community living in care homes.
The Park and Sherwood Forest, both in Derby were the first to achieve the recognition, and have now been joined by Upton Dene and Bradwell Court in Cheshire, The Laurels in Derby, Park View in Sheffield and Broadmeadow Court in Chesterton.
Sanctuary Care’s Regional Manager Raschel Smith said: “Working through the accreditation for our VFF status really opened our eyes to understanding the lives of veterans and their families and has given us the ability to connect more closely with people we support and truly appreciate their experiences and interpretations of events. This is now part of the fabric of these homes and a standard we are proud to uphold.”
As part of their commitment, the homes established strong links between their veterans and local armed forces community groups. Other actions included training for staff on how PTSD can affect veterans and ensuring that any external healthcare professionals who see their residents are fully aware of their service status, by placing poppies on bedroom doors to remind visitors.
As part of the framework the homes have dedicated champions, who have undertaken specialist training, which they then use to train their colleagues on how to provide the very best support to their veterans and the loved ones of veterans.
The VFF is a collaboration between Armed Forces charities Royal Star & Garter, Royal British Legion and NHS Veterans’ Covenant Healthcare Alliance, with funding support from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust.
Kathryn Glass is the VFF Project Lead at Royal Star & Garter and responsible for supporting and assessing care homes going through the scheme. She said: “We’re delighted that Sanctuary Care’s homes have achieved VFF status. This is a great commitment to their continuous improvement in the delivery of person-centred care for veteran residents and their partners.”
Sanctuary Care has been delivering trusted care to older people for over 25 years. For more information, visit: www.sanctuary-care.co.uk/enriching-lives
