NHS organisations achieve Ministry of Defence gold recognition
The Defence ERS scheme encourages employers across the UK to recognise and champion the value that Armed Forces community members bring to the workplace.
The awards recognise three levels of commitment in total: bronze, silver and gold. Employers must pledge, demonstrate or advocate support for the armed forces community by aligning their values with the Armed Forces Covenant.
An impressive number of NHS organisations achieved the highest level of recognition for their commitment to supporting the Armed Forces Community by receiving the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) Gold Award.
Across England 18 NHS trusts and 1 Integrated Care Board were awarded with gold status, this being from a record high of 193 organisations achieving gold across all sectors.
The full list of NHS trusts achieving gold in 2023 comprises:
- Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trusts
- Chelsea & Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation
- Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT)
- Frimley Health Foundation Trust
- Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Great Western Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- James Paget University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- NHS Dorset (ICB)
- Northern Care Alliance NHS FT
- Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
- Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust
- Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
- South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust
- University Hospital Dorset
NHS Employers’ Armed Forces team is hugely proud of the NHS organisations awarded gold and the significant increase in trusts achieving the highest recognition under the scheme.
Begin your journey to gold
Visit our dedicated ERS Award webpage to find out more about the awards. For good practice tips, read our case studies from gold-standard NHS trusts, including:
Celebrating this year's awards
NHS Employers’ Armed Forces team will host a special Community Connect session on 21 September to celebrate this year’s award winners, with presentations to share best practice, opportunities for questions and further information on the benefits of the scheme.
If you would like to join this session, and receive invitations to all of our Armed Forces reservists networking events, please complete this short form.
Join Community Connect
Our Community Connect networking sessions bring together NHS Armed Forces reservist champions with representatives from military units and supporting organisations. It provides a space to share ideas, experiences and good practice.
You can learn more about community connect on our Armed Forces networks web page.
