Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust mark Armistice Day
Staff from across the Trust, along with specially invited guests including Coventry Cllr Linda Bingham, joined together for a special commemoration service Armistice Day on Tuesday 11 November 2024 at Wayside House. Last year the Trust added a dedicated memorial for the Armed Forces community in the form of a Tommy Soldier statue and memorial bench in its garden, around which the service today took place.
The event was a time to reflect on the contributions of our Armed Forces community, and to honour CWPT's Veterans Services, who go above and beyond to provide high quality care to the veterans using the service.
Simon Moult, the Trust Chaplain led the service with support from Royal Spa Brass from Leamington Spa, Veterans Contact Point from Nuneaton and staff who are veterans themselves or serving reservists. Wreathes were laid at the Tommy statue by Mary Mumvuri, Chief Executive, and Chris Howard, Corporate Governance Manager and serving reservist, after which everyone was offered the opportunity to place their own poppy cross.
Services of Remembrance were also held across various CWPT sites, to ensure all staff and volunteers had the opportunity to mark the day.
Lynne Davidson, Midlands Op COURAGE Operational Manager, West Midlands, said:
As a veteran and nurse manager involved in the development of CWPT's services for the Armed Forces community, it is with great pride we mark over a decade of commitment and improvements we have made. We now run one of the national services in England called Op COURAGE and go from strength to strength.
Having the opportunity to lay wreaths and place remembrance crosses around our Tommy statue on Armistice Day makes it really poignant and special. It allows us somewhere to take a moment to sit and reflect and shows that CWPT continues to remember the fallen.
Since 2011, CWPT has strived to provide high quality care to our Armed Forces community through the development of the wider Op COURAGE Midlands Team.
Op COURAGE is an NHS service developed with people who have served in the Armed Forces and experienced mental ill-health. Working together with NHS services and charities, Op COURAGE makes sure people who have served and are struggling with their mental health and wellbeing get specialist care, support and treatment for their specific needs.
Alongside CWPT, Midlands Op COURAGE is proudly delivered in partnership with Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, St Andrew's Healthcare, Walking With The Wounded, The Ripple Pond, Tom Harrison House, and Mental Health Matters.
Midlands Op COURAGE is one of 6 regional providers of the service in England, and since April 2023 has supported more than 1,700 veterans, service leavers, reservists and their families across both the East and West Midlands.