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The Trust is proud to support those who have served, their partners and dependants. As such the Trust is a signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant.

The Armed Forces Covenant is about fair treatment. For most of the Armed Forces community, the Covenant is about removing disadvantage; so that they get the same access to services as the civilian community. The Armed Forces Covenant sets out the relationship between the nation, the government and the Armed Forces. It recognises that the whole nation has a moral obligation to members of the Armed Forces and their families, and it establishes how they should expect to be treated.

The Covenant's two principles are that:

• the Armed Forces community should not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services in the area where they live;
• special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given most such as the injured and the bereaved.

The Trust has a range of strategies to support patients from the Armed Forces Community to ensure they do not face disadvantage as a result of their service to the country.

In the development of support the Trust considers patients from the following groups to be part of the Armed Forces Community:

• Serving Personnel
• Veterans
• Reservists
• Spouse or Partner (including spouses and partners of reservists)
• Child of a veteran, service member or reservist aged 25 or under

Meet some of our Armed Forces colleagues.

Laura Fogg 

Laura Fogg works as a HR Advisor for the Trust and is also the Chair of the Armed Forces Network.

"I joined the RAF in 2003 as a Personnel Administrator and served for 10 years at various UK RAF bases. I also did a Tour of Afghanistan in 2007 and of the Falkland’s in 2010, during my 10 years I worked in a variety of HR roles and enjoyed the variety that service life was able to offer, I was also a steward of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in 2006 and was in the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance in 2008 and 2009. In 2009 I received an Air officer Commanding Commendation in the Queens New Years Honours list for services to my station and the community which was a massive honour and surprise.

"In 2013 I left the RAF to allow myself the flexibility that I needed to look after my son who was just 13 months at the time. I then spent 8 years in the private sector before joining North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust in June 2021. I was pleasantly surprised to find an already established Armed Forces Community and joined the network pretty much straight away, it was great to talk to likeminded people who had also previously served and were now working within the NHS.  I became deputy chair of the network after a few months and then chair in September 2022. 

"Shortly after I joined the network, Afghanistan started to experience difficulties as the Taliban took power once more, and I was surprised at the strength of feeling this brought to me. This was when the network really came into its own and we all rallied around to support each other. The Trust also recognised that this was a difficult time for many of us and ensured everyone knew where to get further support if this was needed.

"My Armed Forces background helps me so much with my current role. It means I can often understand the challenges of those within the Armed forces Community and can offer that further level of understanding or a different perspective which others may not have considered."

Craig Short

Craig Short is the Trust's Staff Experience and Organisational Development Lead and a member of the Armed Forces Community staff network.

"From a young age I always knew that I wanted to be in the Royal Air Force, I'm not sure why specifically, maybe the military ran in my family like nursing and medicine did. The stories my family told me made it seem like an exciting and rewarding career.

I joined the Royal Air Force as a Medic in June 2000 where I was deployed to Iraq, three times to the Falklands, Oman and United Arab Emirates. Within my role as a medic I was also:

• Combat medical support
• Medical stores
• Aeromedical liaison officer
• Medical facility practice manage 
• Instructor/trainer
• Pressure chamber operator 
• Training needs analyst 

"The majority of my family live in Peterborough so being able to live and work close to home was a huge bonus. Working for my local hospital gives me the opportunity to influence, even if it's in some small way, the care that my community receives. It was a bonus that they'd already established an Armed Forces Community staff network that provides support and a 'camaraderie' that is not as commonplace outside the military."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nicola Blake

Nicola Blake is a Clinical Educator and Emergency Practitioner at the Trust and is also a member of the Armed Forces Community staff network.

"My military service began in 2001 when I joined the Army Reserves as a Combat Medic whilst I was undertaking my Adult Nurse Training at the University of Salford. 

"On qualifying in April 2004, I joined the Regular Forces as a member of the Princess Mary’s Royal Air Force Nursing Service. Due to the conflicts happening during that time, I was soon sent out on my first overseas deployment to Iraq, following which I did 3 further overseas tours of both Iraq and Afghanistan between 2006 and 2010. 

"My role overseas was on the tactical helicopter based MERT (Medical Emergency Response Team). Our sole purpose was to collect casualties from the front line who had been traumatically injured, before starting lifesaving interventions on the back of a tactically flying helicopter whilst en route back to the military field hospital. This almost always involved multiple casualties, catastrophic/blast trauma and was often carried out in the dark and under enemy fire. Our casualties not only included British and American forces, but civilians, children, and Taliban insurgents also. It was a life changing experience, and I am incredibly proud to have been part of that pioneering chain of trauma based casualty evacuation.

"For most of that time, when not overseas, I was based at Ministry of Défense Hospital Unit Peterborough, firstly at the old Peterborough District Hospital, and more recently at Peterborough City Hospital. After undertaking my BSc (Hons) in Emergency Nursing, I left the RAF in 2011 as a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer, to achieve a better work life balance and to concentrate on furthering my career outside the military.

"I found the Trust to be supportive during all my overseas tours and am very proud to work in an organisation that has signed the Armed Forces Covenant in more recent years.

"I have undertaken various roles since leaving military service, including as a Senior Sister in a Regional Major Trauma Centre, an Emergency Practitioner in the Trust's Urgent Treatment Centre and Emergency Department, and very recently as one half of the new UEC/ED Clinical Educator team which is a role I started in March of this year. I firmly believe the skills I acquired in the military are life-long and not limited to clinical and nursing. A career in the forces also develops your sense of teamwork, camaraderie, resilience, drive and your ability to deal with adversity and I hope I can bring these skills alongside clinical experience to my new role to benefit the wider UEC team."