From commitment to culture: supporting the Armed Forces community at ESHT
Overview
East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust (ESHT) began its focused Armed Forces journey in September 2023, by bringing together colleagues with military connections and an interest in improving support for the Armed Forces community. the Trust signed the Armed Forces Covenant later that year and then progressed rapidly through the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS): Bronze in January 2024, Silver in September 2024 and Gold in July 2025. It also achieved Veteran Aware accreditation in March 2024 and won the HSJ Award for Military and Civilian Health Partnership in November 2025.
Key benefits and outcomes
A clear, defence-friendly employment offer, including ten days of paid leave for reservists and five days for Cadet Force Adult Volunteers (CFAV).
Veteran Aware accreditation and national HSJ recognition for connecting workforce support, patient care, training and partnership working.
Stronger relationships with local reservist units, military charities and regional partners, creating clearer routes to specialist advice and support.
What the organisation faced
ESHT recognised that members of the Armed Forces community bring valuable clinical, leadership, teamwork and crisis-management skills, but may experience barriers in both employment and healthcare. Reservists need managers to understand training and mobilisation commitments, service leavers need recognition of their transferable skills and military families require flexibility during deployment.
The trust could not consistently identify patients who are serving personnel, veterans or military family members. Without reliable identification, staff missed opportunities to ask whether military service was relevant to a person’s care. The challenge was not simply to gain recognition, but to embed a consistent approach across workforce policy, recruitment, training, clinical pathways, information systems and community partnerships.
Our progress has come from bringing together people with military experience, clinical insight and organisational influence around one shared purpose: ensuring that no member of the Armed Forces community is disadvantaged when they work for us or receive our care. Recognition matters, but the real achievement is embedding that commitment into everyday practice and continuing to ask what we can improve next. - Steve Aumayer, Deputy Chief Executive and Chief People Officer
What the trust did
The trust established an Armed Forces/Veteran Aware steering group with executive, managerial and clinical leadership. The group used the Armed Forces Covenant, the Veteran Aware manifesto and the Employer Recognition Scheme framework to create a structured workplan, monitor delivery and keep the programme connected to trust governance.
ESHT strengthened its employment offer by providing ten days of paid special leave for reservists and 5 days for CFAV. Guidance allowed colleagues to plan military training alongside NHS responsibilities and discuss mobilisation or family deployment needs early. Recruitment activity was also broadened to recognise military experience and transferable skills, including participation in Forces Families Jobs and work to improve recording of Armed Forces status in ESR.
A colleague who is a member of the Armed Forces community is working entirely remotely to enable them to move with their military family, this allows the Trust to retain valuable skills through understanding the needs of Armed Forces community employees.
The trust developed a network of Armed Forces service champions and embedded Armed Forces content into staff induction, preceptorship and manager learning. It piloted Military Human training, promoted Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance learning. Champions have access to shared resources and opportunities to contribute to the steering group, helping knowledge reach frontline services rather than remaining with a small central team.
ESHT has worked to introduce an Armed Forces community identifier across electronic records. This is essential to understanding need, identifying patterns and developing appropriate pathways. The trust is also exploring Defence Medical Welfare Service provision, which could help staff address non-clinical including discharge support while clinical teams focus on the patient’s immediate presentation.
To support members of staff to declare their Armed Forces status on ESR the trust produced a narrated powerpoint that takes them through the process step by step. Download the document and to hear the narration click the the speaker symbol on each page.
Results and benefits
Within two years, ESHT progressed from signing the Covenant to achieving the highest level of Defence Employer Recognition. Gold status recognised that the trust had moved beyond minimum commitments by embedding a firm commitment to the Armed Forces community Veteran Aware accreditation provided parallel assurance that the programme was also improving recognition and support for patients.
The HSJ Award for Military and Civilian Health Partnership gave national recognition to the combined model. The award entry highlighted Armed Forces awareness training, work to improve the identification of veterans in patient pathways, stronger relationships with military charities and the Trust’s rapid progression to ERS Gold.
The Trust’s ESR data has improved through the consistent approach to communications and the importance of recognising the Armed Forces community. A short video to encourage people to update their armed forces status on ESR has been shared within the Trust and also with other NHS trusts.
Key takeaways
Start with lived experience: involve Reservists, veterans, military families and colleagues with military connections from the outset.
Connect workforce and patient priorities. The strongest model supports people both as NHS colleagues and as members of the communities services care for.
Secure visible executive sponsorship, but also identify managerial and clinical leads who can turn commitment into day-to-day practice.
Use the Covenant, ERS and Veteran Aware frameworks as improvement tools and build the requirements into a single, measurable roadmap.
Invest in identification and data early. Without reliable workforce and patient information, it is difficult to understand need or demonstrate impact.
Build partnerships and share learning. Military units, charities, regional bodies and other NHS organisations can provide expertise that the trust does not need to recreate.
If you would like to discuss the work of the trust further you can get in touch with them.
