NHS Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care Board
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-10)

We, the undersigned, commit to honour the Armed Forces Covenant and support the Armed Forces Community. We recognise the value Serving Personnel, both Regular and Reservists, Veterans and military families contribute to our business and our country.

The Armed Forces Covenant

An enduring covenant between the people of the United Kingdom, Her Majesty’s Government and all those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces of the Crown and their families

The first duty of Government is the defence of the realm. Our Armed Forces fulfil that responsibility on behalf of the Government, sacrificing some civilian freedoms, facing danger and, sometimes, suffering serious injury or death as a result of their duty. Families also play a vital role in supporting the operational effectiveness of our Armed Forces. In return, the whole nation has a moral obligation to the members of the Naval Service, the Army and the Royal Air Force, together with their families. They deserve our respect and support, and fair treatment.

Those who serve in the Armed Forces, whether Regular or Reserve, those who have served in the past, and their families, should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services. Special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given most such as the injured and the bereaved.

This obligation involves the whole of society: it includes voluntary and charitable bodies, private organisations, and the actions of individuals in supporting the Armed Forces. Recognising those who have performed military duty unites the country and demonstrates the value of their contribution. This has no greater expression than in upholding this Covenant.

Section 1: Principles of the Armed Forces Corporate Covenant

1.1 We NHS Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care Board will endeavour in our business dealings to uphold the key principles of the Armed Forces Covenant, which are:
- no member of the Armed Forces Community should face disadvantage in the provision of public and commercial services compared to any other citizen;
- and in some circumstances that special treatment may be appropriate especially for the injured or bereaved.
Section 2: Demonstrating our commitment

2.1 NHS Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care Board recognises the value serving personnel, reservists, veterans and military families bring to our business. We will seek to uphold the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant, by pledging to the following:
- Armed Forces Friendly
- UK Reservists
- Armed Forces Charities
We also pledge the following:

Openly Communicating and engaging through outreach by: - Actively engaging and creating networks with our Integrated Care System Health and Care Partnership on the best way reach out to our Service communities. - Working in partnership with our Health & Care colleagues to share information and best practice to better interact with our Service communities. - Providing and promoting training, such as e-learning, for your staff on the Armed Forces Community. - Promoting the Armed Forces Covenant, the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme and our support for the Armed Forces Community to our staff, customers/service users, supply chains and the wider public. - Supporting and promoting Armed Forces events, such as Armed Forces Day, Reserves Day, the Poppy Appeal and Remembrance activities. - Using the Covenant and Employer Recognition Scheme logos in our communications and marketing. - Establishing an internal Armed Forces Network within our organisation, to enable staff members with an Armed Forces connection to meet and support one another and provide feedback to us as an organisation. - Appointing an Armed Forces Champion within our organisation to function as a focal point for organising and promoting support for the Armed Forces Community. - Engaging with and support local Armed Forces charities, for example by supporting their fundraising activities. - Advocate the use of the Forces Connect App to signpost members of the Armed Forces Community to available support, for example from Cobseo, the Veterans Gateway or statutory services in our area. - Engaging with a local Armed Forces presence for example, local Army units, reservist units, RAF stations and/or naval bases. - Developing relationships and working collaboratively with other organisations supporting the Covenant and the Armed Forces Community within Surrey Heartlands. 4 - Actively engage with those within our Service community who act as carers through Armed Forces Carers, linking in with the NHSE Armed Forces Families and Care Single Point of Contact initiative. - Work collaboratively with our Frimley health and social care colleagues so the armed forces community in Surrey to ensure consistency in support. Offering Employment support to members of the Armed Forces Community by: - Supporting Reservists by offering them additional days of annual leave (paid/unpaid) to perform their duties. - Offering work placements, insight days, mentoring schemes and/or guaranteed interview schemes to Veterans seeking employment. - Supporting the employment of Service spouses, partners and dependents, by: signing up to Forces Families Jobs; offering short-notice leave to those whose partners are sent on deployment; and working with the tri-Service Families Federations. - Promoting employment schemes aimed at the Armed Forces Community, such as Step Into Health. - Offering additional (paid/unpaid) annual leave to Cadet Force Adult Volunteers to help them conduct their training requirements. - Offering insight days to older Cadets looking for apprenticeships and further education opportunities. - Engaging with the Career Transition Partnership. - Working with relevant charities and the Career Transition Partnership to offer work opportunities to the Wounded, Injured and Sick. - Considering ways in which remote-working solutions might benefit the mobile Armed Forces Community, especially partners and spouses. Promoting Healthcare by: - Take part in and promote awareness-raising schemes, such as veteran-friendly accreditation for GP practices and the Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance. - Ensure available dedicated healthcare services for members of the Armed Forces Community, such as Op COURAGE in England, are signposted and promoted

2.2 We will publicise these commitments through our literature and/or on our website, setting out how we will seek to honour them and inviting feedback from the Service community and our customers on how we are doing.