Veteran Friendly Framework

Why is the Veteran Friendly Framework Important?

Following RBL’s successful Count Them In campaign, we know that of 340,355 care home residents in England and Wales, nearly 8% are veterans. This figure does not include spouses and partners of veterans who may have their own unique and additional needs from their experiences, and with whom the VFF will also work to support.

According to a recent study from Anglia Ruskin and Northumbria Universities, only about 20 of the 15,000 care homes in the UK specifically support residents who have served in the Armed Forces. The study found that care homes often face additional challenges supporting veterans and their families to address loneliness, and to connect positively with their identity and memories.

The social, emotional, and physical needs of veterans, as well as the potential effects of their military duty on their experiences with life, jobs, family, and physical and mental health, is not always fully understood and responded to by care homes. The VFF is designed to enable care and nursing homes across the UK to deliver personalised care and support to the residents who are part of the Armed Forces community.

It does this by supporting veterans and their family members in disclosing their Armed Forces connections and offering guidance and support on the practical, emotional, and social needs of the Armed Forces community through training and resources. The VFF also supports sharing of best practice across care homes and facilitates relationships between service providers, to ensure the best possible access to tailored support, wherever a member of the Armed Forces community is living.

Care providers are required to meet eight standards to complete their VFF accreditation. 

These include:

• Provisions to identify veterans and their partners wellbeing needs by ensuring that Armed Forces status and related needs are included in care planning.

• Signing up to the Armed Forces Covenant.

• Providing signposting to local statutory and charitable support services.

The Impact of the Veteran Friendly Framework so far

The VFF has already proven successful. Accredited care homes are seeing benefits for their residents from identifying members of the Armed Forces who had not previously shared their status, to connecting individuals within their homes and to groups and events in their communities, creating friendships and vital social interactions because of their service. The scheme aims to accredit hundreds more care homes in this pilot period which runs to 2025.

The Framework has been praised by Veterans’ Minister Johnny Mercer MP and Professor Deborah Sturdy CBE, the Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care in England.

For further information about the project and to see the current  list of VFF accredited care homes visit the Veteran Friendly Framework website.