Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (CNTW), a provider of mental health and disability services across the North of England and their subsidiary company, NTW Solutions (NTWS) have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and pledged their support to the Armed Forces Community.
The Armed Forces Covenant is about fair treatment. For most of the Armed Forces community, the Covenant is about removing disadvantage; so that they get the same access to services as the civilian community.
James Duncan, Deputy Chief Executive at CNTW and Victoria Bullerwell, Head of Workforce and Organisational Development at NTWS signed the covenant at a virtual ceremony on Wednesday 24 February and agreed to uphold the principles of the covenant.
James said: “We are honoured to sign the covenant and are proud to support our Armed Forces Community. As well as upholding our pledges within the covenant, we will now work with our staff who are Reservists, Cadet Force Adult Volunteers, Veterans and Military spouses/partners to set up a network so we can understand more about the needs of the armed forces community.”
Victoria said: “We are honoured, and it is a real privilege to be at the event today. We are fully committed and are really excited to start our journey.”
The Armed Forces Covenant sets out the relationship between the nation, the government and the Armed Forces. It recognises that the whole nation has a moral obligation to members of the Armed Forces and their families, and it establishes how they should expect to be treated.
The Covenant’s two principles are that:
- the Armed Forces community should not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services in the area where they live;
- special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given most such as the injured and the bereaved.
By signing the covenant, CNTW and NTWS recognise the value that serving personnel, reservists, veterans and military families bring to the organisation, and to our country.
Both organisations have pledged to promote that they are armed forces-friendly and will support the employment of veterans, recognising military skills and qualifications in the recruitment and selection process and work with the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) to support the employment of service leavers.
It is hoped that by setting up a staff network for armed forces staff, this will support the Trust to attract and engage with the armed forces community and encourage more people to join the CNTW and NTWS workforce.
CNTW and NTWS already hold the Bronze Award for their Employer Recognition Scheme and will now work towards the next step of the Silver Award.
CNTW also provides specialist mental health services for former armed services personnel experiencing severe mental health problems. If you, or someone you know, is an armed forces veteran and struggling with their mental health, expert help is available. Speak to your GP or contact Op Courage, the Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing service, on 0300 373 33 32 or email [email protected].