The North East of England, like all the regions, has been busy rolling out the NHS Armed Forces healthcare training and education programme. I would like to highlight one of the trusts who have embraced this programme from the start and continue to develop training opportunities to drive improvements in caring for the Armed Forces community across their trust.

Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust are committed to delivering equitable, trauma-informed care to the entirety of the Armed Forces community and this can be recognised within Promise 11 of their Organisational and Clinical Strategy 2023/28:

“Deliver in full the NHS commitment to veterans and those within our service communities, recognising the specific needs many have, especially for access to suitable mental health and trauma response services.”

As part of this Promise, the Trust has formed a strong, dedicated partnership with the Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance in the North East of England which has led to a number of initiatives, training opportunities and changes.

The Trust has been delivering ‘Armed Forces Awareness’ training to all new colleagues during monthly Trust Induction for a couple of years. As of January 2026, this evolved to include Module One; as a result, approximately 600 new inductees will now receive Module One training every year.

All colleagues at the Trust are able to benefit from a Learning Half Day every month, in which they have the opportunity to attend live sessions of Module Three. So far, these sessions have proved to be popular, with many attendees citing specific elements they are taking back to their own services.

In November 2025, the Trust held its first Armed Forces Workshop where colleagues from across 6 NHS providers, 2 local authorities and 8 local charities were able to receive Module Three training. This has raised awareness primarily in the Trust but also across the area, strengthening local commitment whilst identifying joint working opportunities.

In addition, the Trust Chief Executive and the Board have received Module Two training with a view to expanding this to all Senior Leaders in due course.

In summary, the result of this successful partnership and the subsequent training has:

• Contributed to the sustained increase in the number of patients being identified as members of the Armed Forces Community.
• Supported the ‘Ask the Question’ campaign which is promoted widely across the Trust.
• Prompted three dedicated Armed Forces team meetings within services across the Trust. These teams wanted to understand how they could better support the Armed Forces Community in their specific department.

Training engagement across the North East remains consistently positive, and the support from every trust is greatly appreciated. This level of collaboration highlights the dedication of NHS colleagues who are driving the programme forward and those championing it through their Armed Forces networks.