Boost for veterans’ care as 300th home gains VFF status
A care home in Oxfordshire has become the 300th in the country to be recognised for the exceptional person-centred care it provides to veterans and their partners.
Benson House in Wallingford gained Veteran Friendly status in February.
The free-to-access Veteran Friendly Framework (VFF) helps providers to offer appropriate support for veterans living in care homes across England. It aims to deliver improved health and wellbeing outcomes for over 25,000 veterans and their partners.
Benson House is part of the Caring Homes group which is committed to achieving VFF status across their 18 eligible homes in England. Over 50% of these are already fully accredited, with the final cohort on track to join them in the near future.
To date, over 2,250 veterans and partners are already being supported by the VFF across England.
‘Learned a huge amount about the Armed Forces’
Benson House Customer Relationship Manager, George King, said: “This is fabulous news for the home. We’re thrilled that our hard work has resulted in the home being VFF approved and we all enjoyed the actual process too. Our team has learned a huge amount about the Armed Forces, in particular, that there are more veterans out there than we had imagined. All the Benson House veterans now have a poppy image on their doors and members from our local Royal British Legion regularly visit the home for a chat with them.”
Further explaining the impact the VFF has had on the home, George continued: “We have made contact with various veterans’ charities, including SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, and the RAF Benevolent Fund. In April we are hosting our very own Veterans’ Coffee Morning where groups from the local community are invited to join us for an informal get-together – the first of what we intend will be regular veterans’ gatherings at Benson House.”
The home will also host regular commemorations around dates including Armed Forces Day, Battle of Britain Day, D-Day, VE and VJ Days and Remembrance. The care home has also committed to educate new and existing staff to better understand and support the military community.
To attain VFF status, a home must meet eight standards. These include provisions to identify the wellbeing needs of veterans and their partners by ensuring that Armed Forces status is included in care planning; addressing social isolation; and providing signposting to local statutory and charitable support services. On average, it takes a home four months to complete.
Last year an independent evaluation praised the impact of the VFF on the lives of veterans living in care homes, finding they gained from improved social connections and felt less isolated.
The review, carried out by Care City, found veterans and partners of veterans benefitted from increased person-centred care, being more engaged and included in care home activities and as a result they felt more valued.
There are benefits for staff too. The evaluation determined the VFF supported their professional development, increased confidence in supporting veterans and improved work satisfaction.
The programme also has business benefits for care homes and was seen as a valuable marketing tool that improved the home’s reputation and visibility within the community, enhancing their services and creating a specialism to offer residents.
The evaluation concluded that the VFF should continue to be rolled out across England, and expanded into Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The VFF is a collaboration between Royal Star & Garter and Royal British Legion, who are joint funders, and the NHS Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA – an NHS flagship Armed Forces programme).
‘Phenomenal achievement’
Kathryn Glass, VFF Project Lead at Royal Star & Garter, said: “Our congratulations go to Benson House for gaining VFF status and becoming the 300th home to achieve this. All our VFF homes have demonstrated their willingness and ability to support, understand and deliver care that’s tailored to the veterans and their partners in their homes. We’re so proud to have supported 300 homes to achieve VFF status and we will celebrate this landmark in the programme. It truly is a phenomenal achievement, and we look forward to welcoming many more care homes to join the VFF family.”
Any care homes interested in receiving more information about the VFF can visit https://veteranfriendlyframework.org.uk/, email VFF@starandgarter.org or call 07425 326070.
The full VFF evaluation can be viewed here: VFF-Final-Evaluation-Report-July-2025.pdf