Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Email | RSS

Our Practice Index Practice Manager panel return and this week, Robyn and Nicola are joined by two special guests, Brigadier Robin Simpson, RCGP Veterans Champion and Professor of Military Primary Healthcare and Veterans Health at the University of Chester, and by Darren Davies, former Royal Military Police Staff Sergeant, to highlight the issues faced by military veterans in accessing healthcare and how we in primary care can ensure there is better support for our veterans, post service, who frequently suffer in silence with seemingly invisible and escalating health conditions and concerns. With this in mind, the RCGP have launched their veterans’ healthcare toolkit and the GP practice veteran friendly accreditation, which offer insight and much needed guidance on making healthcare more accessible for those in our society who have sacrificed the most, but whose needs are all too often overlooked.

Introduction (0:09)

Congratulations to our Nicola! (0:22)

Meeting our guest panel members (0:41)

The advent of the veteran friendly practice programme (1:12)

What are the differences between recognised veteran friendly practice and those who aren’t yet accredited? (2:50)

Darren’s take on the initiative and the impact on veterans (4:08)

The struggle of those returning from tour and access to healthcare (5:37)

Comparison with the more established support systems in the US (6:38)

Promoting practice sign up within a landscape of competing demands (8:38)

The accreditation process (10:11)

Nicola and Robyn’s experiences of sign up (11:12)

PCN accreditation (13:30)

Meeting the health inequalities agenda (14:00)

Identification of a clinical lead (15:19)

What would it mean for veterans if every practice became accredited? – Robin’s perspective (15:52)

Darren’s view (18:14)

Finding out more and signing up (19:16)

If you’d like to find out more, or even better, spend 15 minutes signing up for the RCGP veteran friendly GP practice accreditation, we strongly encourage you to follow the link here.

For all enquiries about the Practice Index / Ockham podcast, please contact James Dillon or Ben Gowland.