Armed Forces Day 2023

EEAST are proud supporters of the United Kingdom Armed Forces, and actively recruit and develop service leavers, veterans, reservists and their dependents.
To mark this year’s Armed Forces Day on June 24^th, Chief Executive Tom Abell recorded a message of thanks to our armed forces.

Across the trust we currently have around 20 staff (less than 1% of our total workforce) with reservist commitments.
Reservists are dedicated people who give up their time to train and serve in the Armed Forces, combining this with a civilian life and career.

Our primary function as a provider of medical care means that many of our staff take those skills into the Reserves, but we also have staff in a number of non-medical roles including the RAF Regiment, Army Infantry Regiments, Royal Marines, and Air Operations support.

Mobilisations for our staff have included operational deployments to serve in Afghanistan, the Middle East, Africa, and Central America. Others were also part of the UK team to teach and train NHS staff in West African countries affected by the Ebola Virus.

This year the trust is re-accrediting our standards for the Gold Award from the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (DRES) in recognition of our support and commitment to reserves and veterans.
EEAST was one of the first UK ambulance trusts to hold this award and have also been awarded ‘Veterans Aware Trust’ status as part of the Veterans Covenant HealthCare Alliance (VCHA).
This is a national programme that requires us to demonstrate our commitment to veterans.