The armed forces e-learning programme is for all health and social care professionals who may come in contact with serving personnel, veterans and / or their families, to help enable them to provide the best possible care.

Whilst many aspects of health need for the armed forces community are the same as other members of society, there are sometimes significant differences from other patients, particularly in relation to conditions attributable to life in the services and the overall impact of military life upon the family. These differences can be reflected in the way in which healthcare is delivered, the range and types of services provided and the long-term impact upon the patient and their family.

The e-learning programme is designed to highlight both the similarities and differences to help healthcare personnel to understand the context of military life and how to appropriately respond to patient need. It consists of six sessions looking at care for current serving personnel, the families of serving personnel and veterans, and for veterans.

The programme is also a useful tool in helping to ensure the NHS is meeting the health commitments of the Armed Forces Covenant and providing the best possible care to serving personnel, veterans and their families.

Built on sessions that were originally developed by the Royal College of General Practitioners, the programme has been further developed and tested with a range of patient representatives from the armed forces community and service charities, including input and support from NHS England. Representatives from the Naval, Army and Royal Air Force Families Federations were involved in producing the sessions on Families, and members of the Army Medical Corps were involved in writing and reviewing the session on Serving Personnel.

Access is not restricted to NHS staff; various professional groups, including students as well as staff working in social care in England, can register to access the content. Further details are available at http://support.e-lfh.org.uk/get-started/registration/.

Access is freely available on the project website and no registration is required to access the ‘Open access sessions’. Service charities and lay persons with an interest in providing healthcare to the armed forces community may access through this route

Each e-learning session takes around twenty minutes to complete; the whole programme will take around two hours to complete. It is possible to dip in and out of sessions and to access them in any order, and as frequently as is needed.

CPD points are not awarded for completing the sessions, however, those who have completed them can generate a report of their activity, including the number of hours spent on the e-learning. This can be submitted as evidence of learning to a CPD provider, who may then award CPD points.

Always contact your own IT Department first as there may be a local solution. The technical checkers available on each platform should tell you if you need more software installed to access the course and certificate. If your IT department is unable to solve the problem, it will depend on which learning platform you will be using, please complete this web form or email support@e-lfh.org.uk for e-LfH technical support.