Practice nurses urged to lead on veteran care 

General practice nurses are being encouraged to take a leading role in the provision of care for veterans ahead of Remembrance Day this month.

More than 4,400 GP practices are Veteran Friendly Accredited – a free programme the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) and NHS England (NHSE) which aims to support practices to identify veteran patients, understand their health needs and, where appropriate, to refer them to specialist NHS services.

Those behind the initiative have said nurses can play a ‘key role’ in getting their practices to sign up to the scheme and can also be appointed as a ‘veteran lead’.

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New data from an RCGP and NHSE commissioned survey of 5,000 veterans in England suggested that more than one in four (27%) veterans have not told their GP practice they have served.

The reasons given for not sharing their veteran status included not being asked (28%), assuming their GP already knows from their medical record (14%) and never having been told to do so (18%).

Debbie Howarth, a specialist nurse practitioner and veteran lead at the Veteran Friendly Accredited Whittaker Lane Medical Centre, said: ‘As an ex-member of the Armed Forces, and with family still serving, I’m really proud to be our veteran lead.

‘Since becoming accredited, our whole practice has a better understanding of the health challenges some veterans can face.’

She added: ‘With Remembrance Day being such a poignant time for many veterans, I’d strongly encourage fellow nurses to take the simple step of signing up their practice or becoming the veteran lead.

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‘I’ve seen first-hand the difference it makes for veterans and their families.’

The RCGP and NHSE survey, completed in 2024, revealed that musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders, pain, mental health problems, drug and alcohol misuse, adjustment disorders and hearing issues are all more common among veteran populations.

More than half (55%) of veterans reported having experienced a health issue potentially related to their service, with one in seven (14%) not having sought help for such health issues.

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Almost a third (30%) of respondents said they ‘prefer to manage their issues on their own, with others saying that a civilian health professional ‘won’t understand their experiences’ (15%).

However, almost two thirds of veteran respondents (63%) said they would be more likely to seek help for any issues that they may experience if they knew their practice was signed up to the Veteran Friendly Accreditation scheme.