Overview
Support for veterans, service leavers, and non-mobilised reservists
Find out about healthcare and welfare support that's available, including Op RESTORE, The Veterans Physical Health and Wellbeing Service.
All veterans, service leavers, non-mobilised reservists, and their family members and carers can access a range of specialist healthcare and support created to provide treatment and care for many different problems.
Who counts as a veteran?
You are a veteran if you have served in the UK armed forces for at least 1 day.
Non-mobilised reservists are also regarded as veterans.
If you are a mobilised reservist registered with Defence Medical Services (DMS), find information about accessing NHS healthcare while in active service.
Help for service leavers
During and after your resettlement period, there are a number of actions you can take to help NHS and specialist veteran services support you.
The most important is to register with an NHS GP surgery and let them know you have served in the UK armed forces.
Find more information for service leavers
Support for your health and wellbeing after leaving the UK armed forces
The NHS can support your health when you leave the armed forces. It does not matter if your health needs are a result of your service or not.
GP surgeries are usually the first point of contact if you have a health problem.
They can treat many conditions, give health advice and refer you to other NHS services if needed.
Find more information about NHS services
Register with a GP surgery and tell them you served in the UK armed forces
If you have not already, it's important to register with an NHS GP surgery as soon as possible and tell them you served in the UK armed forces so they can add it to your medical record. This includes the:
- British Army
- Royal Navy
- Royal Air Force
- Royal Marines
- Merchant Navy
Registering as soon as you leave the armed forces instead of waiting until you need treatment means you may be able to access treatment faster.
When you register with an NHS GP surgery, it's important to give them any information you received from your military medical officer.
This will help your GP to better understand your health, including any health problems related to your service. It will also help make sure you're referred to dedicated services for veterans, where appropriate.
These services include Op COURAGE: The Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Service, and Op RESTORE: The Veterans Physical Health and Wellbeing Service.
It can sometimes be helpful to refer you to armed forces charities, who can often offer significant help and support. This will only be done with your agreement.
If you're already registered with a GP but have not told them you served in the armed forces, make sure to let your GP or a member of the practice team know when you next speak to them.
This is important to do because it may be relevant to your health and care, now or in the future. It does not matter how long you served for or when you left the armed forces.
Do not worry about sharing information about your time in the armed forces. GPs, nurses and other people working in the NHS are bound by law to deliver a confidential service.
Veteran friendly GP surgeries and trusts
Some GP surgeries and NHS trusts, such as hospitals and ambulance services, have staff trained to be aware of health problems that veterans might face.
These are called veteran friendly GP practices and veteran aware NHS trusts.
They're designed to better support you with your healthcare in many ways, including:
- having medical staff with military healthcare backgrounds
- having staff trained to treat health problems that commonly affect veterans
- having knowledge of specialist NHS services designed specifically for members of the armed forces
Veteran Aware: Accredited NHS trusts map
Mental health and wellbeing support
Veterans and their families and carers can access dedicated mental health support services run by the NHS and mental health charities.
These include:
Find out more about mental health support for veterans and families