NHS Stockport nominated for award for veteran healthcare

Homeland August 19, 2019

NHS Stockport Foundation Trust has been nominated for an award for providing tailored veteran healthcare.

NHS Stockport is being praised for its veteran healthcare after the creation of a ‘Veteran Passport’ which includes information and guidelines for caregivers and prevents former personnel from having to relive traumatic stories. The passport came in response to patient feedback on the difficulty some patients face relaying medically relevant information relating to traumatic events from their time in service.

The trust has been shortlisted by the Greater Manchester and Lancashire Royal British Legion in the ‘Public Sector Partner’ category. The passport allows veterans to include as much or as little information as they decide is relevant to them and helps staff within Stepping Hill hospital and the rest of the foundation trust know what care is specifically needed.

Quality Practitioner and project lead Kathryn Glass said: “The passport came about after we addressed a concern that had been posted on our on line patient feedback system ‘Care Opinion’. One of our patients was experiencing great distress at having to repeat his story each time he came to our outpatient department.”

“We then decided to look at a way of making the patient experience a more positive one, and by working together with veteran patients developed the passport to as a way to provide a more individualised support system. The passport has been a simple but effective way of providing the right level of information to enable the person to receive personalised care and support at a time when they need it the most.”

Staff from across the NHS Stockport Foundation Trust have received new training to use the passports and provide the appropriate care. A veterans action group has also been created which is supported by veterans and trust staff.