Celebrating our Veteran Friendly Accreditation

Swallows Meadow is proud to announce that we are the first Care Home in Solihull to have been awarded the Veteran Friendly Framework.  

The aim of the VFF is 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. 

To achieve their Veteran Friendly status, Swallows Meadow Court was required to meet eight standards. 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, and other charities that provide support for veterans or partners of veterans. The staff and management at the home are delighted to offer veteran friendly care. They have always supported veterans like Peter, a current resident, who goes each year to sell poppies at the local Sainsbury’s. They are pleased this scheme has enabled them to be a verified veteran friendly provider and they look forward to welcoming more veterans who may need nursing care within Solihull. 

Swallows Meadow is looking forward to developing a closer relationship with the Royal British Legion and attending coffee mornings at the local branch after becoming the first home within Solihull (apart from one of the organisers, Royal Star and Garter) to be awarded the VFF. The VFF is a collaboration between Armed Forces charities Royal Star & Garter and Royal British Legion, and NHS Veterans’ Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA), with funding support from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust.  

Kathryn Glass is the VFF Project Lead at Royal Star & Garter and responsible for supporting and assessing care homes going through the scheme. She said: “We’re delighted that Swallows Meadow has achieved VFF status. This is a great commitment to their continuous improvement in the delivery of person-centred care for veteran residents and their partners. This programme will benefit both current and future residents, along with current and future staff at Swallows Meadow court who are able to access enhanced training and guidance to better engage with the unique military experiences that their residents and partners have lived through. Being a VFF care home means that there is an increased understanding and recognition for the veteran community at Swallows Meadow Court. The Veteran Friendly Framework is designed for the wider Armed Forces community.  

The VFF is currently a two-year programme funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, Royal British Legion and Royal Star & Garter, running to April 2025. Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance with the NHS in England is committed to raising standards among healthcare providers of Veterans’ services. The Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA) is a group of NHS providers, including acute, mental health, community, and ambulance trusts that have agreed to be exemplars of the best care for, and support to, the armed forces’ community. They do this through their Veteran Aware accreditation model, which has been widened to include the independent sector and hospices, which encourages providers to identify those patients with an Armed Forces background.