Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals (ASPH) has been named a Veteran Aware Trust as they join the wave of Veteran Aware Trusts committed to helping serving members, veterans and their families access healthcare services and find new careers in the NHS.
This highly acclaimed Veteran Aware accreditation was formally awarded in December in recognition of the vital support ASPH provides the Armed Forces and their families. They join 105 Trusts across the United Kingdom leading the way to improve care within the NHS and help veterans back into the workforce.
ASPH was one of the first Trusts to sign up to the NHS ‘Step into Health’ recruitment programme, where veterans and reservists are introduced to NHS employers who provide support and guidance on finding a role in the NHS. To find out more about a career with ASPH, veterans should contact us on
At the heart of the Trust’s Veteran strategy is also ensuring that the Armed Forces community have access to a care pathway both in and outside the hospital. To help with this, the Trust works with community partners to signpost veterans to various support groups.
Other force-friendly ASPH initiatives include the ‘Armed Forces Community training’ to raise staff awareness of the services available to Armed Forces and veterans, a dedicated website with signposting and being able to recognise Armed Forces personnel when they join the NHS or access our patient services. Chairman, Andy Field and Executive lead for the Veterans Aware Programme, Andrea
Lewis, said, “We are delighted to receive the Veteran Aware accreditation status for our Trust, which further shows our commitment to the Armed Forces community. We are proud that many of the Executive team have an Armed Forces background and we employ a number of reservists throughout the Trust.”
“Team ASPH support many members of the Armed Forces Community including veterans and reservists during exercises and operations. The Trust is committed to offering employment to veterans who bring diverse skills and leadership to our workforce.”
“We are committed to providing the Armed Forces and their families with the same high quality healthcare service and patient experience as the rest of the community, with special consideration given to those that are injured and bereaved.”
Pictured above: Russell Lewis, Clarence Chikusu, Andrea Lewis, Richard Wooley, and Aiden Parsons
