Ambulance service pledges more NHS job opportunities for veterans and military families

The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) has signed a pledge to further strengthen its commitment to supporting current and former members of the armed forces and their families.

Step into Health is a national programme that enables NHS organisations to demonstrate their dedication to opening up career opportunities for people from the armed forces community.

By signing the pledge, SWASFT becomes part of a growing movement across the NHS that recognises the valuable skills, experience, and dedication that veterans, serving personnel, and military families bring to healthcare, in both clinical and non-clinical roles.

This announcement follows the Trust’s recent re-accreditation as Veteran Aware with the Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance — a recognition awarded to NHS providers that actively support the armed forces community and promote fair access to services and employment.

By signing the Step into Health pledge, SWASFT has committed to: reviewing recruitment practices to remove barriers for armed forces candidates; sharing dedicated Step into Health contact information; building strong links with the Career Transition Partnership (CTP); promoting the programme through Step into Health branding. It is also using the Step into Health candidate system to manage and refer applicants across NHS organisations.

Dr Matt Thomas, executive medical director and Step into Health initiative lead at SWASFT, said: “We are proud to already have a strong armed forces and veterans community within SWASFT with over 800 of our colleagues having links to the military.

“These include those who joined us after leaving military service, as well as reservists and cadet force instructors who combine their ambulance service careers with active roles in the armed forces.

“We recognise and deeply value the contribution they have made – and continue to make – to our country, our region, and our local communities.

“This pledge further demonstrates SWASFT’s role as a champion for inclusion, helping to create meaningful career opportunities for those who have served.

“We are proud to stand with the armed forces community and truly value the unique qualities they bring to our workforce.”

Step into Health is open to all service leavers, veterans, and their families. SWASFT signed the pledge in April as part of its ongoing commitment to the armed forces community.

The Trust looks forward to working closely with partners and colleagues across the NHS to ensure armed forces personnel and their families are supported in building rewarding careers in healthcare.

SWASFT provides emergency and urgent care across an area of 10,000 square miles — covering Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire — which is 20 per cent of mainland England and is predominantly rural. SWASFT employs more than 6,000 staff across 131 sites including 96 ambulance stations, and two emergency operations centres in Bristol and at its headquarters in Exeter.

It serves a resident population of over 5.5 million people, with an estimated annual influx of more than 23 million tourists. It typically deals with around 2,650 incidents a day. 

To find out more about the programme and SWASFT’s Armed Forces and veterans community, you can go online and visit: https://www.swasft-joinus.co.uk/armed-forces