Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (BCHFT) has been honoured with a prestigious award for its dedication to the Defence and Armed Forces community.
The Trust has earned silver status in the Ministry of Defence’s Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS), which acknowledges employers who uphold the values of the Armed Forces Covenant and support those who have served.
Moving from bronze to silver, BCHFT adopts various measures to assist the Defence and Armed Forces community, such as guaranteeing interviews to members who use the armed forces identifier on NHS Jobs and meet the essential criteria for a role.
On this special commemorative week marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, the Trust was one of only 47 recipients of silver award status announced across the North West.
Paula Woods is Director of People and Organisational Development for Bridgewater Community Healthcare. She said:
“This has been a poignant week for our veteran community as we remember the sacrifice so many took in 1944 in Normandy.
“Eighty years may have passed since the D-Day landings, but the recognition and acknowledgement of all veterans throughout the decades remain as strong today as it was back then.
“As a forces-friendly employer, we are in the heart of our local communities. We are proud to have further enhanced our commitment to the Defence and Armed Forces community by achieving silver status.”
Colonel Mark Underhill OBE DL, Chief Executive of the North West of England and the Isle of Man Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association, said:
“On behalf of the Ministry of Defence, we are honoured and delighted to recognise the outstanding support and commitment given to the Armed Forces Covenant by businesses and organisations in the region through the Employer Recognition Scheme.
“Each recipient has demonstrated their support not only to the Covenant and the wider Armed Forces community but also their readiness to support Reservists, Service Leavers, Spouses, Veterans, Cadet Force Adult Volunteers, and Cadets in the workplace.”
For more information about Bridgewater Community Healthcare’s commitment to the Armed Forces community, please visit: www.bridgewater.nhs.uk/aboutus/equalitydiversity/armed-forces-community/
Paula Woods
Director of People and Organisational Development