Military Veterans

We’re officially an Armed Forces Veteran Friendly GP practice

What is a veteran?

A veteran is anyone who has served for at least one day in the Armed Forces, whether regular or reserve. It means the same as ‘ex service personnel’ or ‘ex-forces’, although not all veterans know, choose or want to associate with the term ‘veteran’. This is particularly the case amongst younger veterans who often refer to themselves as ‘ex-forces’, due to the common belief that a veteran is someone who fought in the First / Second World War.

How can we help veterans?

Whilst many aspects of the health needs of veterans are the same as for the general public, there are sometimes significant differences, particularly in relation to conditions attributable to service life and the impact upon families. These differences can be reflected in the way in which healthcare is delivered, the range and types of some specific services provided and the long-term impact upon patients and families. If you need some help with your health arising from being a veteran please let reception know this.  The lead doctor for veterans is Dr Houghton.

Please let us know if you’re a veteran

We need to know which of our patients are military veterans so that we can ensure we understand your health needs.  Recently we have asked this question on our registration paperwork but we are sure there are many of our patients who are veterans that we don’t know about. If you are a veteran please let us know by contacting reception and telling us which of the forces you were in and we will code this on your patient record.  Or you can email us with these details to Ibstockhouse@nhs.net but please add in your name, address and date of birth so we can identify your record on  our system.