Better Care for Veterans: National Training and Education Plan

Wes Streeting Excerpts

Thursday 8th May 2025 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)]

As the nation marks the 80th anniversary of VE Day, we are announcing a new national training and education plan to transform healthcare for the armed forces community across England.

The Government are proud of the courage and dedication of our armed forces. It is our duty to ensure that those who have been injured or are unwell, whether physically or mentally, receive the very best possible care. However, the NHS is not currently set up to provide the best possible services to the armed forces community. Too many veterans still struggle to navigate civilian healthcare systems and may not self-identify as veterans to NHS staff, putting them at risk of missing out on the additional support and bespoke services that are already available. That is why we are rolling out the national training and education plan—to help guarantee that armed forces veterans and their families benefit from the improved and targeted healthcare that they deserve. The plan will train and educate NHS staff across the country to meet the unique health needs of veterans, serving personnel and their families.

NHS staff across England will receive dedicated training to help them identify and support patients with military backgrounds. GPs, NHS doctors, nurses and managers will work with regional trainers to make sure they embed this support into their services. The three-year training programme, backed by £1.8 million, will be rolled out across England from October 2025.

This announcement sits within wider Government commitments to veterans, including putting the armed forces covenant fully into law, and the newly announced Operation Valour, a £50 million boost in funding to ensure that veterans across the UK have easier access to essential care and support. The national training and education plan will ensure that the NHS is set up to fulfil the armed forces covenant, with the appropriate training and education required to develop a skilled, educated and inclusive NHS primary, community and secondary care workforce, to meet the evolving needs of the armed forces community within the NHS in England. This new training is part of our plan for change to fix the NHS and make sure it works for everyone, including those who have risked everything to serve our country.

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