What is the Armed Forces Covenant?

The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise made by the nation ensuring that those who serve or who have served in the Armed Forces, and their families, are treated fairly. It does not mean that these members of our community can access treatments more quickly than others but ensures that their service and the reason for needing healthcare is recognised and considered and where appropriate, steps are taken to avoid any disadvantage.

In November of 2022 the Covenant created a legal duty that organisations, such as NHS Hospitals, must ensure that ‘due regard’ has been given to service people to remove any disadvantage arising from membership, or former membership, of the Armed Forces. Even before this duty became law, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust signed a pledge to honour the Covenant and support our Armed Forces Community. This pledge has only been strengthened by the legal duty recently created and the Trust continues to take proactive steps to provide the highest possible levels of care to our Armed Forces Community.

Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust was awarded the Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) Gold Award in July 2022, having previously held a Silver Award since 2014. The scheme encourages employers to support defence and the Armed Forces community and inspire others to do the same by aligning our values with the Armed Forces Covenant.

Representing the highest badge of honour, the ERS Gold Award identifies organisations that employ and support those who serve, veterans and their families.

Gold award holders:

Demonstrate support for service personnel issues and employ at least one member of the Armed Forces community.
Actively communicate and uphold a positive stance to their employees via established Human Resources policies and procedures such as supporting the work of its reservists which includes paid leave to allow them to attend training.
Show flexibility towards annual training commitments and mobilisation of reservist employees and support the employment of cadet instructors, Armed Forces veterans (including wounded, injured and sick) and military spouses/partners.

SFT staff members collecting the Armed Forces Covenant

ERS Gold Award on behalf of Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust.

Our staff at Salisbury District Hospital have long been well regarded for the quality of care and treatment they provide for our patients and for their innovation, commitment and professionalism. This has been recognised in a wide range of achievements and it is reflected in our award of NHS Foundation Trust status. This is afforded to hospitals that provide the highest standards of care.