Armed Forces Veteran Friendly Accredited GP Practice

armed forces

What is a Veteran Friendly Accredited GP Practice

We, at the Chapelgreen Practice are proud to be an accredited Veteran Friendly GP Practice and to support our veteran community.

As a Veteran Friendly GP Practice we:

  • Have a clinical lead (Dr Lisa Philip) for veteran health , who is supported by the whole Practice to improve veteran health services.
  • Ask patients ‘Have you served in the Armed Forces?’ to help identify veteran patients
  • Support veteran patients to access dedicated health services
  • Undertake regular training and development to meet the health commitments of the Armed Forces Covenant and better understand the needs of veteran patients

If you are a veteran patient, please let us know that you have served so that we can make sure that we understand your health needs and ensure you are getting the best possible care.

What is a Veteran?

A veteran is someone who has served in the British Armed Forces (Regular or Reserve) for at least one day. Veterans also include any member of the Merchant Marine who has served in a war zone. This includes crew from convoys in World War 2 and more recently in the Falklands conflict and Gulf Wars.

There are around 2.4 million British Armed Forces Veterans in Great Britain, of whom 89% are male and 60% are aged 65 and over. About 18,000 service people move back into civilian life every year. While most of these individuals have similar levels of health to the general population, around 2,000 leave on medical grounds. The top reasons for medical discharge are for issues relating to back, knees, mental health and hearing.