How Walking With The Wounded collaborate with the NHS
From Employment to Mental Health, to the recent launch of OP-Courage we take a look at the work WWTW does with our principal partner, the NHS
Walking With
The Wounded have always sought to partner with the NHS, working collaboratively throughout the charity’s history to
deliver support in the Employment, Mental Health, and Care Coordination programmes.
Most recently, on 4th March 2021, the NHS
launched ‘OP-Courage’, an encompassment of NHS services aimed at Armed Forces,
inclusive of the Veterans’ Mental Health Transition,
Intervention and Liaison Service (TILS), the Veterans’ Mental Health Complex
Treatment Service (CTS) and more recently the Veterans’ Mental Health High
Intensity Service (HIS), together forming a complete mental health care pathway
for ex-servicemen and women.
From October 2020, the HIS started to mobilise across
England, providing a much-needed service for veterans who are struggling
with their mental health, are in a mental health crisis and/or need urgent and
emergency care and treatment. WWTW have partnered with 3 of the NHS Trusts
covering 4 areas, to support the delivery of HIS.
As well as the most recent collaboration between WWTW and
the NHS in the delivery of HIS, the NHS have been prominent in supporting the
growth of WWTW’s programmes across the board, we have put together some of our
collaborative highlights:
EMPLOYMENT
- WWTW created ‘Step Into Health’ in partnership with The Royal Foundation and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, an employment
pathway between military and the NHS. This programme is now owned by NHSEmployers with more than 440 veterans placed in NHS careers.
- WWTW invited to speak at NHS Employers
Conference 2019 and 2020.
- OP-REGEN volunteering initiative – supporting
the staffing of the Nightingale Hospital during the pandemic.
- Created DIY SOS veterans’ street in Manchester – as featured on the BBC with the Duke of Sussex and Duke of Cambridge.
- The Employment Team supported 42% more veterans into employment in 2020, compared to the previous year.
MENTAL HEALTH
- WWTW work in partnership with the NHS Veterans
Mental Health Transition, Intervention and Liaison Service (TILS)
- WWTW created ‘Head Start’, an mental health
early intervention programme, to support the NHS via GP referrals (delivering
12 sessions of 1-2-1 mental health therapy, within 4 miles of a veterans home and 7 days of referral), for those with mild to moderately
sever mental health issues.
- Awarded the first UK IPS (Individual Placement
& Support) Centre of Excellence for Veterans by the Centre for Mental
Health
CARE COORDINATION
- Getting veterans back into society
- Delivering Veterans Mental Health High Intensity
Service (HIS) across 4 regions, in partnership with 3 NHS Trusts.
- Creation of ‘Project Nova’ in partnership with RFEA (The Forces Employment Charity) – an NHS commissioned early intervention programme that supports veterans who have been arrested and enter police custody.
- Project Nova work with 21 police forces, with a 65% increase in the veterans they supported in 2020, in comparison to the previous year.
Kate Davies, CBE, Director of Armed Forces NHS England and NHS Improvement said:
'The NHS and Walking With The Wounded have forged a broad partnership together, with this understanding of how to work alongside one another, avoiding replication and designing bespoke and innovative care pathways, tackling complex areas which has a very positive impact on individuals, their communities and wider society'
Find out more about the support WWTW offers here
Find out you can get support from HIS: