Shortlisted in regional awards for commitment to supporting our Armed Forces Community
The Trust is delighted to have been shortlisted in two categories of the Boots and Beret Awards. The awards provide an opportunity to recognise a significant contribution to the British Armed Forces Community throughout Nottinghamshire
The Trust has been shortlisted in the Employer Forces Award category. We have also been shortlisted in the Health and Wellbeing Award category, jointly with Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust for our partnership work.
We remain highly committed to supporting our Armed Forces Community (AFC). We continue to be holders of the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award and are a Veterans Aware organisation.
We're incredibly proud of our work supporting colleagues. The membership of our Armed Forces Community Network continues to grow, with 124 members. The Network keeps members informed through regular meetings, and we also hold Breakfast Clubs and Family Coffee Chats to enable the community to get together.
The Network also organises and supports Military March, Armed Forces Day and Remembrance events, holding flag raising and social events at different locations across the Trust. The group also meets regularly and works to support each other, share knowledge and make improvements for colleagues and patients alike.
For our colleagues to understand and support our veteran patients we have created a Veteran Support kit, which alongside key information and support organisations, it also identifies the 14 trained Service Champions across the Trust who have further knowledge. Linked also to patient care, we have ensured that our clinical record systems have been amended to more easily record that patients are from within the AFC.
Jennifer Guiver, Executive Director of People and Culture said:
"We are thrilled to be recognised in these regional awards and really proud of the work we do to support our Armed Forces Community - both colleagues and patients. It's fantastic to also be recognised alongside our partners in the health and wellbeing award category, which demonstrates our commitment to ensuring our patients get the right care for them, wherever they access services. Finally, I would like to put on record my sincere thanks to our Armed Forces Staff Network who work tirelessly on top of their day jobs to support us to make improvements for our armed forces family."
Being recognised in the Health and Wellbeing Award category, alongside our colleagues at Sherwood Forest Hospitals and Nottingham University Hospitals highlights the work we have done to ensure our patients from the Armed Forces Community are getting the best care across our organisations, tailored to their specific needs.
Our joint working began as our organisations shared the same passion and drive to improve support and recognition of the armed forces community.
We hoped to achieve increasing armed forces awareness across our organisations by utilising shared training, resources and increasing recognition of health inequalities and the unique needs of the military community.
Meetings were organised to share good practice, patient experiences, resources and ideas for further development and to create a robust network.
By sharing and utilising our knowledge and skills across the three trusts, we were able to identify common themes and target education about the armed forces community health needs for our colleagues, including smoking cessation, addiction, gambling, housing needs, employment, mental health support and rehabilitation. Each Trust developed information packs for patients signposting to local services and charities. We also recognised the need for an education programme for staff around what local support is available for the armed forces community.
Winners will be announced at a ceremony on 11 September 2025.
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