University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust has received double recognition for its work in support of the Armed Forces community.

Chief People Officer Donna Griffiths and Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA) Champion Alan Cranfield attended a ceremony at the National Memorial Arboretum to accept UHCW’s Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (DERS) Silver Award.

We were one of 23 employers from across the region to be presented with the award and now join 123 other employers, across all sectors and organisation sizes from the West Midlands, to be recognised.

The DERS scheme encourages organisations to pledge, demonstrate or advocate support to defence and the armed forces community (regular, reserve, and veteran personnel and their families), and align their values with the Armed Forces Covenant.

Award winners must proactively demonstrate their forces-friendly credentials by employing members of the armed forces community (reserves, veterans and their families), supporting the mobilisations of their employed reservists, and making their workforce aware of their positive policies which include additional paid leave for reservists to undertake military training and the guarantee of job interviews for those who meet the essential criteria.

Donna said: “It was a lovely and moving service and I was very proud to receive this award on behalf of UHCW.

“Military personnel past and present deserve our support for their bravery and dedication and we will continue to do all we can to ensure the right supports are in place when needed.”

On the same day, the Trust was notified of its success in being accredited to the VCHA, another significant achievement in our portfolio of support to the Armed Forces community.

It requires that aspirant organisations meet, or show progression towards, the eight VCHA manifesto standards which include, but are not limited to, identifying veterans who are seeking our services; referring veterans to other organisations where appropriate and raising awareness of veterans within the Trust and the wider community.

Donna added: “It is a great privilege to have received both of these awards in recognition of our efforts in this important area.

“Some of the standards in both the DERS and the VCHA are not easily achieved and require considerable effort, and patience, by many people.

“This progress is in line with our commitment and adherence to the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant which the Trust was pleased to commit to in 2019. The Trust should be very proud.”