NHS Healthcare for the Armed Forces programme retirement
Please be advised that the NHS Healthcare for the Armed Forces programme programme is now out of date and will be removed from the elfh Hub on 22nd August 2025. Please ensure you have completed your learning and generate your certificate, if required, before this date.
About the NHS Healthcare for the Armed Forces programme
The Armed Forces community comprises current serving personnel, their families, and military veterans and their families; Reservists are considered serving personnel when mobilised or training, and veterans when not carrying out military duties. Whilst many aspects of health need are the same as other members of society, there are sometimes significant differences from other patients and particularly conditions attributable to life in the services and the overall impact of military life upon the family. These differences are sometimes reflected in the way in which healthcare is delivered, the range and types of services and the long-term impact upon the patient and their family.
This elearning programme is designed to highlight both the similarities and the differences to allow healthcare personnel to understand both the context of military life and also how to appropriately respond to patient need. The programme is broken into three broad areas – the NHS care of current serving personnel, the NHS care of the families of military personnel and veterans, and finally veterans themselves.
A new course to support the health of military veterans has now been added to the programme. Dr Jonathan Leach, Chair of NHS England Armed Forces and their Families Clinical Reference Group, has led the creation of the new learning resources which can be delivered as a lunchtime learning session by NHS Armed Forces Champions (or anyone else suitably interested in veterans’ health matters). The course takes less than an hour to deliver and consists of:
• Introduction to the needs of military veterans – Facilitator Guide
• The Covenant Film Clips
• Introduction to the needs of military veterans – PowerPoint presentation
• Two ‘top tips’ handouts
FAQ
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Who is the armed forces elearning programme for?
The armed forces elearning 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.
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Why should I complete the programme?
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 elearning 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.
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Who has been involved in developing the programme?
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.
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Can people outside of the NHS use it?
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/.
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Do I have to be registered on the elearning for healthcare website to use it?
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
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How long does the programme take to complete?
Each elearning 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.
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Will I get CPD points for completing the programme?
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 elearning. This can be submitted as evidence of learning to a CPD provider, who may then award CPD points.
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I need some technical support - who should I contact?
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 elfh technical support.
Meet the team
Dr (Colonel Retired) Jonathan Leach
Project Clinical Lead, Chair NHS England Armed Forces and their Families Clinical Reference Group
Andrea Collins
Head of Communications and Engagement, NHS England South (South Central)
Neha Baj
Senior Project Manager, HEE elearning for healthcare
Alex Drinkall
Stakeholder Manager, HEE elearning for healthcare
Dr (Lt. Col. Retired) Graham Wheatley
General Practitioner
Karen Ross
Health and Additional Needs Specialist, Army Families Federation
Jenny Ward
Regional Team Manager, Navy Families Federation
Jo Wilkinson
Armed Forces Covenant Coordinator, RAF Families Federation
Lt. Col. Julian Woodhouse
Senior Medical Officer, 3 Med Regt
How to access
Available to all
The sessions are available to use from the Open access sessions section above. If you access the content using this link, you will not have to log in but your activity will not be tracked and you will not be able to generate a record of completion.
If you already have an account with elfh, then you can enrol on to the NHS Healthcare for the Armed Forces programme by logging in to the elfh Hub, selecting My Account > Enrolment and selecting the programme. You can then access the programme immediately in the My elearning section.
To view the NHS Healthcare for the Armed Forces programme, select the View button below. If you already have an account with elfh, you will also be able to login and enrol on the programme from the View button.
NHS healthcare staff in England
The NHS Healthcare for the Armed Forces programme is also available to NHS healthcare staff via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR). Accessing this elearning via ESR means that your completions will transfer with you throughout your NHS career.
Further details are available here.
Not an NHS organisation?
If you are not an NHS health or care organisation and therefore do not qualify for free access elfh Hub, you may be able to access the service by creating an OpenAthens account.
To check whether or not you qualify for free access via OpenAthens, you can view the eligibility criteria and register on the ‘OpenAthens’ portal.
Registering large numbers of users
If you are a HR, IT or Practice Manager and would like to register and enrol large numbers of staff within your organisation for access onto the NHS Healthcare for the Armed Forces programme, please contact elfh directly.
Organisations wishing to use their own LMS
For HR departments wanting to know more about gaining access to courses using an existing Learning Management System please contact elfh directly to express interest.
More information
Please select the following link for more information on how to use the elfh Hub.