Support for our armed forces community

CWP recognises the unique obligations and sacrifices made by our Armed Forces community and the impact this may have on their lives. Our Armed Forces programme of work ensures that the commitments made through the Armed Forces Covenant are embedded throughout all areas of Trust business, enabling members of Armed Forces community, including our veterans, reservists, cadet force adult volunteers, family members and carers to be the best they can be.

CWP has signed the Armed Forces Covenant to demonstrate its commitment towards our Armed Forces community. The Covenant recognises that the whole nation has a moral obligation to members of the Armed Forces community and how they should be treated. The two main principles of the Covenant are that:

• Our Armed Forces community will not face any disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services in the area where they live.
• Special consideration is provided especially for those who have given most such as the injured and the bereaved.

As part of this commitment, our staff work hard to identify patients who currently work or who have worked in the military as well as any service families, to ensure they are not disadvantaged in the care they receive from the NHS and to ensure that CWP is providing the best person-centred care to meet their needs.

CWP is proud to fully support and actively encourage our employees to become Armed Forces Reservist’s or a Cadet Force Adult Volunteer’s. We recognise that these roles provide excellent opportunities for staff to acquire and develop new skills in teamwork, communication, leadership, problem solving and organisational techniques and are a key part of our work to support our wider Armed Forces community.

CWP has a dedicated policy to help and support our Reservists and Cadet Force Adult Volunteers with their training and mobilisation, including additional paid annual leave to facilitate their training commitments.

OUR ARMED FORCES COMMUNITY NETWORK

CWP has an established Armed Forces Community Network with an active internal and external membership. The Network helps to shape and inform our armed forces work and we welcome interest and representation from any service users or volunteers with lived experience.

CWP has partnered with the Poppy Factory who provide employment support to our patients who are Armed Forces veterans and their families. The Poppy Factory supports our veterans with health conditions and their families into employment, helping them overcome any barriers. Our health professionals can refer veterans receiving care from CWP for ongoing support through the Poppy Factory’s employment consultant.

Our Volunteer to Career programme at CWP offers opportunities to our Armed Forces community to gain experience in clinical and non-clinical settings, with certain roles relating particularly to mental health. This experience helps support our Armed Forces community to apply for suitable jobs in health and social care or pursue further training as a health care professional. Please see the ‘Volunteering with us’ section on this website for more details.

For further enquiries or additional information on how CWP works with our Armed Forces community, please contact:

cwp.armedforcescommunitynetwork@nhs.net

At CWP, working together and supporting each other to be the best we can be reflects our strong values and our commitment to being person centred. As part of our recruitment process, members of our armed forces community will be assigned a designated support champion to provide help with their transition into CWP.

 

Armed Forces Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award

Raising awareness of our armed forces community is now becoming embedded throughout our services. We recognise the

unique talents and experience that our Armed Forces colleagues can bring to our organisation and work with our partner organisations to develop CWP as an excellent place to work for everyone. 

CWP has achieved a gold award with the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme which recognises the work that employer organisations undertake to pledge, demonstrate and advocate support to defence and our armed forces community, and to align their values with the armed forces covenant.

As part of this commitment, CWP works with local organisations, suppliers and partners to advocate support to our Armed Forces community.

CWP is proud to fully support and actively encourage its staff to become armed forces reservists or cadet force adult volunteers. These roles are excellent opportunities for our staff to acquire and develop new skills in teamwork, communication, leadership, and organisational techniques and is a key part of our work to support our wider armed forces community. 

CWP has a dedicated policy to help and support our reservists and cadet force adult volunteers with their training and mobilisation, including additional paid annual leave to facilitate training commitments.

Working for CWP

CWP welcomes applications from our Armed Forces community. We recognise the many transferrable skills, training, and experience that our Armed Forces community bring, and we already have many highly valued members of the Armed Forces community working for the Trust.

As part of our commitment to our Armed Forces community, CWP has introduced a guaranteed interview scheme. If you are a veteran, reservist, cadet, or family member of those in the Armed Forces and meet the essential criteria of the post you apply to, you will be offered a guaranteed interview under the scheme. If you have any questions about the Armed Forces Community Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please contact our Recruitment team at: cwp.recruitment@nhs.net

At CWP, working together and supporting each other to be the best we can be reflects our strong values and our commitment to being person-centred. As part of our recruitment process, members of our Armed Forces community starting work with CWP can be assigned a designated armed forces community support champion to help with their onboarding process to their new role.

CWP is proud to fully support and actively encourage our employees to become Armed Forces Reservist’s or a Cadet Force Adult Volunteer’s. We recognise that these roles provide excellent opportunities for staff to acquire and develop new skills in teamwork, communication, leadership, problem solving and organisational techniques and are a key part of our work to support our wider Armed Forces community.