Sponsored by SSAFA
https:// https://www.ssafa.org.uk/about-us
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18 Jul 22. New £5m innovation fund for cutting edge veterans’ healthcare. Bids open for £5 m funding for the Veterans’ Health Innovation Fund to enhance veterans’ healthcare.
- Bids open for £5m funding for innovative projects and cutting edge-tech to enhance veterans’ healthcare
- The Veterans’ Health Innovation Fund will support development of new treatments, techniques and interventions, including through use of AI, virtual reality and regenerative engineering
- Bids sought for initiatives to help enhance female veterans’ healthcare in particular
A new £5m fund has opened today for projects which will provide innovative healthcare treatments for veterans.
The funding will support organisations looking to research and trail cutting-edge technology which could help veterans with complex healthcare needs.
Veterans sometimes face unique health issues as a result of their military service and the Veterans’ Health Innovation Fund will spur innovation in techniques which will ultimately help treat ex-service personnel who have been injured whilst serving the country.
The fund is now open for a number of areas, including:
- Digital, data and technology, including through artificial intelligence, virtual reality and using data to predict long-term health outcomes
- Improvements in innovative surgical techniques, rehabilitation for blast injuries and intervention technologies for mid traumatic brain injury
- Trial interventions and treatments for the impact of pain, hearing loss and visual impairment
- Initiatives to help identify and provide solutions to disparities in female veterans’ health and healthcare
Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Johnny Mercer said: “Our military veterans deserve the very best physical and mental healthcare available. That’s why it is right that we invest cash in exploring how the latest innovation and technology can be used to help deliver that. I want to make the UK the best place in the world to be a veteran. That means ensuring we do all we can to help ensure better health and employment outcomes for those who have sacrificed so much on our behalf.”
The £5m Veterans’ Health Innovation Fund, announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Autumn Budget, is designed to fund a range of projects to improve understanding of how innovative medical treatments or new clinical pathways can be used to better meet veteran healthcare needs.
Organisations will receive grants or contracts to research or trial cutting-edge treatments, techniques and interventions for physical and mental health challenges to help veterans enjoy civilian life to the fullest of their ability.
The grant bidding process has been supported by the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA). The bidding process is open until 31 August 2022.
The funding will also help the government meet its commitment in the Strategy for our Veterans for all veterans to enjoy a state of positive physical and mental health and wellbeing,
Interested applicants can attend an engagement session to find out more about the bidding process. Details on how to apply for a portion of the fund can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/veterans-affairs-health-innovation-fund (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
18 Jul 22. Johnny Mercer Letter on his Appointment as Minister for Veterans’ Affairs. Dear veterans and their families, Last week the Prime Minister appointed me to be the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs – further delivering on a long term promise to the UK’s veteran community to get the whole of Her Majesty’s Government operating in the most effective way to support you and your families. This Government has committed to making this country the best country to be a veteran in the world by 2028. It is my job to deliver on that commitment; I am determined to do so, and I will make myself accountable to you for doing so. While veterans care has advanced significantly over the last fifteen years, I recognise that this has not been felt equally by everybody, or experienced equally across every community of the United Kingdom. Huge strides have been made to meet the increase in demand for support since 2003, and I pay tribute to the thousands of brilliant people who have worked incredibly hard – often as volunteers – to improve life after service for our veterans. The vast majority of our veterans go on to live fulfilled and empowered lives after service. You all know that veterans make fantastic employees, go on to great careers, give back to their communities and hugely benefit from their time in military service. I am determined that we change the narrative around the UK’s veteran population so that your service is recognised and your successes celebrated. But some veterans do face deep struggles, which I will relentlessly strive to tackle. We will forge a path towards ensuring that every one of our community who needs help knows where to turn, and is met by good quality, evidence based care that will improve their lives. The Office for Veterans’ Affairs has achieved great things since its conception in 2019, and will continue to ensure that the Nation’s debt to those who serve is honoured. We are already taking action to protect veterans from vexatious legal pursuit into old age. We are delivering England’s first complete mental health care pathway for veterans in Op COURAGE. And we will be addressing the harm to our LGBT community from the years of the ban. The Government set out bold commitments in the Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan 2022-24 in January this year to improve veteran healthcare, employment, access to digital services and more, and we will meet them all. This is a significant moment of change. I hope that the Nation looks back in the years ahead with pride at what we achieve, and that this step change is felt by every one of you. I look forward to the challenge.
18 Jul 22. Roke receives Defence Gold ERS Award for commitment to Armed Forces in the South East. Roke is proud to receive the prestigious Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) Gold Award from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for its support and continued commitment to the Armed Forces community in the South East region. The award is the highest recognition presented to organisations that demonstrate their support to the Armed Forces and inspire others to do the same.
As a Gold award winner, Roke has shown it actively communicates and upholds a positive stance for employees who are veterans, Reservists and Cadet Force Adult volunteers, as well as spouses and partners of those serving in the Armed Forces.
The values of the ERS closely align with Roke’s mission and culture which is dedicated to combining and applying emerging technologies to keep people safe whilst unlocking value. Roke signed the Armed Forces Covenant in 2017 and was delighted to receive a Bronze Award in 2018 and a Silver Award in 2021. The company has over 40 veterans and reservists in its Armed Forces community, and they are supported through a number of policies and initiatives designed to support their continued service, while making transition from service personnel to employee as smooth as possible.
Here are some of the ways Roke delivers on its commitments:
- An additional fifteen days paid leave to Reservist employees to complete tours and annual training camps
- Support for Reservists during times of mobilisation and demobilisation
- A sympathetic and flexible approach to requests for leave from service spouses and partners before, during and post operational deployments
- Supporting the rehabilitation of wounded, injured and sick service personnel through relationships with charitable organisations and initiatives dedicated to these causes (Roke’s previous charity was Pilgrim Bandits, and is now Mission Motorsport)
- Recruitment of recent service leavers and veterans. All Roke vacancies are listed with the MoD’s Career Transition Partnership
- A Veterans Network employee resource group open to all employees, regardless of service history and includes non-veterans
- Formal recognition of Armed Forces Day and Remembrance Day every year through Senior Leadership Team led events
- Submission of numerous nominations for both veterans and Reservists to the Ex-Forces in Business Awards
- Acting as an advocate for the Armed Forces Covenant by encouraging and supporting suppliers and customers to adopt the principles of the Covenant
- Providing training on Roke defence products and capabilities to support Armed Forces training programmes
Paul MacGregor, Managing Director of Roke commented: “This award means a great deal to Roke and recognises the enormous contribution and commitment that our service men and women make in the defence of our country. Their considerable leadership, management and engineering skills, honed during military service, strengthen our ability to understand our defence customers’ complex operational and technical challenges. These skills are vital to our future success.”
Michael Walters, Head of Operational Workforce Planning, military veteran and ERS lead said: “Since joining Roke it was clear to me that the company was an authentic advocate of the service community. This was evident in the number of veterans and reservists working across all areas of the business and manifests in the way the Roke supports them.
“The Roke Veterans Network employee resource group serves to provide a soft landing for service leavers moving into the civilian workplace, whilst also raising occasions such as Armed Forces Day and Remembrance within the consciousness of the business. This award is testament to the enduring way in which we champion the Armed Forces through both our own veteran and reservist communities, and also with our partners and customers’.”
Minister for Defence People Leo Docherty said: “Regardless of size, location or sector, employing members of the Armed Forces community is good for businesses. These awards recognise the outstanding support for our Armed Forces from employers across the UK and I would like to thank and congratulate each and every one.”
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SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, has been providing lifelong support to our Forces and their families since 1885. In 2020, our teams of volunteers and employees helped more than 79,000 people in need, the currently serving (both regulars and reserves), veterans from the Second World War and those who have served in more recent conflicts, as well as their families. SSAFA understands that behind every uniform is a person. And we are here for that person – any time they need us, in any way they need us, for as long as they need us.
https://www.ssafa.org.uk/about-us
https://www.ssafa.org.uk/support-us
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