As part of celebrations for Armed Forces Week, four Halton Borough Council care homes came together for a party hosted by St Luke’s Care Home.
As well as celebrating Armed Forces Week, the four care homes had another very special reason to celebrate – all four Council run care homes recently became the first in the nation to achieve Veteran Friendly Status.
What does Veteran Friendly Status mean?
To achieve their Veteran Friendly status, our care homes and colleagues were required to meet eight standards required by the Veteran Friendly Framework. These included: noting Armed Forces status within care plans; addressing social isolation; and signposting to support services, such as their local Royal British Legion branch, Blind Veterans UK, Halton Veterans Legion and other charities that provide support for veterans or partners of veterans.
The Veteran Friendly Framework (VFF) is funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, Royal British Legion and Royal Star & Garter, with the aim to better support the practical, emotional and social needs of the Armed Forces community, in residential care homes across England, by providing training and resources to assess and improve the care they offer. It will help tackle loneliness and has the scope to deliver improved health and wellbeing outcomes for the 25,000 veterans living in care homes in England.
How did residents celebrate?
In the beautiful sunny courtyard of St Luke’s Care Home, Runcorn, residents gathered in the shade of St Luke’s huge gazebo. Veterans, residents, colleagues and members of the armed forces community were treated to live music and refreshments. Joining the celebrations were Mayor of Halton, Pamela Wallace, and Leader of Halton Borough Council, Mike Wharton. Cllr Angela Ball opened the festivities with words of celebration, congratulating colleagues on their hard work to achieve the Veteran Friendly Status.
