Page 10 - CAMPAIGN Spring 2022

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CAMPAIGN Spring 2022
Veterans Trauma Network (VTN)
If you are a veteran (including a nuclear test veteran), the VTN can help you if you believe that your physical injury/illness is as a result of your service, whether from ionising radiation or anything else. Ceri recently met the head of the VTN; he is an army surgeon and passionate about expanding this service.
We have tried and tested this, and it works! A nuclear test veteran was extremely unwell and contacted us recently. We informed him about the VTN and told him to return to his GP to specifically say that he is a veteran, as well as hand over the VTN email address. His GP wrote to the VTN, and he was referred immediately for appropriate treatment, which, if he had not, would have been life- threatening.
For more information, please contact Lt Col Carl Meyer's Medical Secretary, Rebecca Jones, on 01691 404344.
The VTN will put you in touch with
a Veteran Support Worker who will learn about your circumstances – both medical and non-medical. They will guide you through the treatment pathway of the VTN, as well as ensuring you are signposted to the specialised support available for veterans and their families.
Veterans’ Trauma Centres are located in Birmingham, Leeds, London (St Mary’s Hospital), Brighton, Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Bristol, London (Kings College Hospital), Nottingham, Cambridge, London (Royal London Hospital) and Oxford. The specialist units are located in East Grinstead, Frimley, Preston and Salisbury.
Veterans and Families Counselling Service
We are pleased to inform you that we now have a collaborative working arrangement with a Forces' charity and have successfully referred both veterans and descendants for specialist counselling at their request. The counselling is provided by a BACP therapist, trained in complex PTSD, veterans' and military families' issues.
Although we are in the process of working on a bespoke service with a
counsellor trained in specific issues that our veterans and their families may endure due to the nuclear tests, we can assure you that this referral service works with a 24-hour turnaround.
The process entails speaking to Michelle, Shelly or Ceri at the BNTVA where we will complete the referral form with you and then you will need to complete a consent form with the counsellor.
So, if you feel you require confidential counselling as a nuclear test veteran, sibling, wife, widow or descendant, please contact us on 0208 144 3080, info@bntva.com or through the website, where we will put you in touch with the service.
So, nuclear test veterans, please, if you feel you aren't getting anywhere with your GP, please inform them that you are a veteran, that your injury is associated with your service if you feel that it is and tell your GP to refer you by email england.veteranstraumanetwork@nhs.net
The VTN has 12 specialist trauma centres run by military and civilian doctors in England and Wales. Additionally, there are four specialist units, each with military and civilian medical experts who will be able to help you with your physical service- related health problem.
VTN clinicians will work with you to develop the best clinical plan for your needs. The aim is to get you to the teams who can understand your needs and deal with them appropriately. Your care will be prioritised on clinical need as would happen with any NHS patient, but in the spirit of The Armed Forces Covenant.