Rockliffe Court Surgery

Veterans Trauma Network (VTN)

Following feedback from veterans, their families and GPs, NHS England has worked with the MOD and key military charities to launch the Veterans Trauma Network, which provides care and treatment to those who have been injured during their time in service.

Located in ten major trauma centres across England (Plymouth, Oxford, London (three centres), Birmingham, Nottingham, Liverpool, Leeds and Middlesborough), the network links with the TILS, CTS and key military charities to provide a complete package of care.

GPs can use a single email (england.veteranstraumanetwork@nhs.net) to refer veterans to the service, where they will benefit from specialist care by military and civilian experts.

Patients using the service will have a personalised treatment plan that links to other services where required, such as rehabilitation and mental health, whilst families and carers will be supported to access services they may benefit from.

Prosthetics

A veterans' prosthetics programme was put into place to implement the key findings of A better deal for military amputees report by Dr Andrew Murrison MP.

Dr Murrison recommended that a small number of NHS disablement centres should provide specialist prosthetic and rehabilitation support to veterans to ensure that they continue to have access to high quality care similar to that which was provided to them whilst they were in the Armed Forces. The following nine Disablement Service Centres (DSCs) were selected to provide this support although veterans are free to attend the NHS DSC of their choice:

• Bristol – Bristol Centre for Enablement, North Bristol NHS Trust
• Leicester – Leicester Specialist Mobility Centre, provided by Blatchford Clinical Services on behalf of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs)
• Sheffield – Mobility and Specialised Rehabilitation Centre, Northern General Hospital
• Carlisle – Disablement Services Centre, Cumberland Infirmary, North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust
• Preston – Specialist Mobility & Rehabilitation Centre, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• Stanmore – Stanmore Prosthetic Rehabilitation Unit, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital Trust
• Portsmouth – Prosthetic Regional Rehabilitation Department, Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust
• Birmingham – West Midlands Rehabilitation Centre, Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust
• Cambridge – Addenbrooke's Rehabilitation Clinic, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

In addition to providing support to nine DSCs, a Veterans' Prosthetics Panel (VPP) was established in 2012. The VPP was designed to ensure that veterans could access high-quality prosthetics regardless of which DSC they attend. Applications for funding from the VPP are made by a veteran's prosthetist.
For more information https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/armed-forces/veterans-prosthetics/.

The National Prosthetics Service (NPS) is Scotland's centre for designing and fitting prosthetic limbs.