Thursday 7th May 2020
As part of Health Month we explore what The Armed Forces Covenant means to Service Personnel and their families.
The Armed Forces Covenant is a ‘promise from the nation that those who serve or have served, and their families, are treated fairly’. The Armed Forces Covenant clearly states that Armed Forces family members should retain their place on any NHS waiting list if they have moved due to a serving person being posted.
For example:
If you are on a waiting list for a procedure at location A and you move to location B, you should not be disadvantaged and placed at the bottom of the waiting list in location B. You should join the waiting list at location B in the same position as you were in location A.
It is important you tell the NHS service you are accessing that you are a member of a serving Armed Forces family. It should be included in your patient notes so that they can ensure that you are treated in line with The Armed Forces Covenant. Don’t be afraid to tell the NHS service about the Armed Forces Covenant healthcare commitments if they don’t know about them.
More information can be found on our Armed Forces Covenant page.
Further information
As well as the current Coronavirus advice and guidance, the RAF FF’s website provides a good reference section on all things health-related. You can also sign up to our (free) weekly eBulletin and/or quarterly Envoy magazine to keep yourself up to date generally with updates and information on new initiatives as they go live.
