A Salisbury care home has achieved ‘veteran-friendly’ status under a national scheme designed to support the armed forces community.
Colten Care’s Braemar Lodge made the grade to join the Veteran Friendly Framework (VFF) after meeting eight required standards.
They include having a programme of activities and visits that reflect the specific interests of ex-service personnel and their families
For Braemar Lodge this has involved building partnerships with forces organisations in the community such as the Royal British Legion.
The VFF itself is a collaboration between the Legion, fellow veterans’ charities and a range of other interested bodies.
Various team members at Braemar Lodge have service histories of their own and were able to help with the VFF assessment process.
Among them are Home Manager Jackie Cash, who was in the Princess Mary Royal Air Force Nursing Service, and Companionship Team Leader Graham Ballard, a former Staff Sergeant in the Royal Horse Artillery.
Graham said: “We are deeply honoured to have been accepted onto the VFF. Our support for residents who have been in the armed forces stems from a profound respect for their dedication, sacrifice and professionalism. We ensure that support extends to their families as well. It’s all about fostering an environment where we can give something back to those veterans and military families who have themselves given so much.”
Residents who are veterans include 100-year-old Douglas Parish, who served in the Royal Navy and was present at the D-Day landings in 1944. Douglas has lived at Braemar Lodge for more than two years.
His daughter, Alison Larkham, said: “Dad’s been very happy. He takes full advantage of the activities and social life of the home. As well as normal activities you might expect at a care home, the Companionship Team put great store in understanding individual residents’ interests and tailoring activities accordingly.”
Among the resources offered to care homes with VFF status is enhanced training so that staff can better engage with the unique military experiences that residents and their
partners have lived through. This includes reflecting armed forces status with individual care plans.
According to the VFF, there are more than 25,000 armed forces veterans living in the 14,082 care homes in England.
Only 228 of these homes, or 1.6% of the total, currently have VFF status.
