Silver Court care home celebrates achieving VFF status, enhancing care for veterans

Silver Court care home in East Grinstead hosted a celebration to mark its achievement of receiving Veteran Friendly Framework (VFF) status. This milestone recognises the home’s ongoing commitment to providing exceptional care for the Armed Forces community. 

To commemorate the occasion, Silver Court welcomed members of the local community, friends and families of residents and members of the Royal British Legion (RBL). Among notable attendees were Rex Whittaker, the Chairman of the East Grinstead RBL branch; Peter Waterman, the Secretary of the East Grinstead RBL branch; and former Mayor of East Grinstead, Steve Ody. Local musician Andy Mace, who performed nostalgic wartime classics, was also in attendance.

To achieve their Veteran Friendly status, Silver Court care home was required to meet eight standards. These include, acknowledging Armed Forces status within care plans; addressing social isolation; and signposting to support services.

The aim of achieving VFF status is to better support the practical, emotional and social needs of the Armed Forces community in residential care homes across England. By providing training and resources to assess and improve the care offered, it will help address some of the issues faced by veterans and has the scope to deliver improved health and wellbeing outcomes for the estimated 25,000 veterans living in care homes in England.

Among these initiatives, Silver Court hosts regular coffee mornings designed to offer a supportive environment for veteran residents to connect, bond and enjoy one another’s company. Silver Court resident, John Crocker – East Grinstead’s oldest living WW2 veteran who proudly served in the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment – is a cherished regular.

Silver Court's Home Manager, Abbie Partridge, said: 

Today we proudly celebrated achieving VFF status, which reflects the ongoing efforts, care and dedication of every single colleague here at Silver Court.

Our veteran coffee mornings are always special, honouring the incredible contributions of our veterans. Today’s event was no exception, celebrating Silver Court’s achievement with our residents, their loved ones and members of the local community.

The VFF is a collaboration between Armed Forces charities Royal Star & Garter and the Royal British Legion, and NHS Veterans’ Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA), with funding support from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust.

Kathryn Glass is the VFF Project Lead at Royal Star & Garter and responsible for supporting and assessing care homes going through the scheme.

Kathryn said:

We’re delighted that Anchor’s Silver Court care home has achieved VFF status. This is a great testament to their continuous improvement in the delivery of person-centred care for veteran residents and their partners.

The application that Silver Court care home submitted was of an exceptionally high standard and wholly recognised the dedication, passion, and commitment the team has for providing high-quality person-centred care for residents and colleagues alike, along with forging some really meaningful connections to the armed forces community and NHS services.

For more information about Silver Court, please click here.