Armed Forces Community Support

 
We support the Armed Forces community through the Step into Health program, which offers guidance for NHS jobs.

Through Step into Health you can connect with NHS organisations for training opportunities, work placements, insight days, and application support. The program offers a clear pathway to a career in the NHS. Create a profile and select Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust to connect with us.

For help, call our recruitment team at 01322 625900 and ask for the Armed Forces and Veteran Coordinator.

View our latest jobs

Once employed, you'll have access to support from our Armed Forces & Veteran Coordinator and staff community. We support Reservists and Cadet Force Adult Volunteers with policies to accommodate their training commitments and have earned a Gold Award in the Employer Defence Recognition Scheme.

We’re committed to continually improving the services and support we offer to serving personnel, reservists, veterans and their families by:

• Identifying members of the military community using our services to make sure they receive treatment in line with the Armed Forces covenant 
• Training our staff on the specific needs and culture of the Armed Forces community
• Appointing Armed Forces champions to make sure we deliver on our promises
• Acting as a forces-friendly employer by participating in a range of appropriate schemes
• Building strong connections with military welfare services and charitable organisations to provide continuity of care
• Asking for feedback to improve our services through our Armed Forces Community survey 

If you are accessing healthcare through Oxleas, please let us know if you or a close family member has ever served in the Armed Forces, so we can help you get you the support you need.

• Defence Medical Welfare Services, provide practical and emotional support 
• Walking With The Wounded, provide social support and care co-ordination for veterans receiving healthcare. 

• Bromley Football Club, veterans hub free monthly drop-in
• The Comedy School, for veterans
• Armed Forces and Veterans Breakfast Clubs, come together, share stories, get support and enjoy a hearty breakfast.

• Veterans’ Gateway
• Royal British Legion,   provide lifelong support to serving and ex-serving personnel and their families
• SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association), support the Armed Forces community no matter what the challenge.
• Help For Heroes,   offers a range of support from mental health, wellbeing, financial troubles, housing or applying for benefits
• Armed Forces Network,   resources and guidance for those in Sussex, Kent and Medway

• Armed Forces community rehabilitation pack
• Blesma, The Limbless Veterans, enabling limbless veterans to lead independent and fulfilling lives
• Blind Veterans UK, helps vision impaired ex-service men and women to rebuild their lives after sight loss
• UK Veterans Hearing Foundation
• Help for Heroes – H4H, provide veterans with carefully tailored and holistic support for their physical and mental health, along with their welfare and social needs

• Fighting With Pride, support for LBGTQ+ veterans, serving personnel and their families
• The Royal British Legion LGBTQ+ and Allied Branch, provides comradeship and support whilst reflecting, recognising and remembering those who did not enjoy the freedoms we are privileged to have today.

• Army Families Federation, supports army families worldwide
• Naval Families Federation, helps Royal Navy and Royal Marine families to thrive
• Royal Air Forces Families Federation, helps to resolve challenges that arise from service life
• The War Widows’ Association, is an organisation for widows and widowers of Armed Forces Personnel where death has been caused by or hastened by service
• Give Us Time, provides families with respite breaks to reconnect and reaffirm family bonds after deployments
• The Ripple Pond, supports family members (adults) of physically or psychologically injured veterans as well as those within prisons
• Scotties Little Soldiers, is a charity dedicated to supporting bereaved British Forces children and young people
• Help For Heroes, supports families including children
• Adfam, supports for family members of veterans and currently serving personnel with drug or alcohol problems.

• The Veterans Charity, support veterans battling with hardship
• The Royal British Legion Grants, supports Armed Forces community who may need financial support
• SSAFA Financial Planning Support, help serving Armed Forces and veterans manage their finances and future planning
• Help For Heroes Grants, provide financial help and advice to members of the Armed Forces community.

• Op Fortitude, supports a pathway for veterans at risk of, or experiencing homelessness, into supported housing or to keep them in their current home
• Veterans’ Aid, works to reduce homelessness in ex-service men and women, supporting them every step of the way
• Haig Housing – Homes for the veteran community, provides quality homes to improve the lives of veterans and their families in need
• STOLL, is a leading provider of supported housing to vulnerable veterans.

Health-focused research and studies concerning the Armed Forces community.

• The Middle East Area of Operations Health Study [pdf] 5MB
• Kings Centre for Military Health Research: Office for Veterans’ Affairs Final Report — Health and Wellbeing Study of Serving and Ex-Serving UK Armed Forces Personnel: Phase 4
• The Female Veterans Transformation Programme
• Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT)/ Research Centre
• Kings College Military Health Research
• Research into hearing loss and Audio Processing Disorder in Veterans
• Centre For Military Women’s Research