Ambulance service launches veteran support network

An ambulance service has launched a support network for veterans, reservists and their families within its workforce.

The East of England Ambulance service (EEAST) has about 5,000 employees, with 200 of those either veterans or who have links to the armed forces.

The network is being launched in Armed Forces Week, and it will be initially online, with a variety of virtual and in-person events expected to follow.

Neill Moloney, the EEAST chief executive, said: "We hope our Armed Forces Network will provide a space where veterans, reservists and their families can come together to improve the support we offer to staff."

Across the service there are about 40 staff with reservist or cadet force commitments, including roles with the RAF, Army, Royal Marines and the Royal Navy.

Mr Moloney added: "Within EEAST we have a wide range of people from within the military communities, whether by being veterans, reservists, military co-responders who volunteer with us in their spare time, or by being the spouses of those currently serving.

"We also recognise that EEAST's patients that are veterans can also have complex and specific needs and we hope that the lived experience of members of the Armed Forces Network will also help us improve the support we provide to those patients."

Follow East of England news on X, Instagram and Facebook: BBC Beds, Herts & Bucks, BBC Cambridgeshire, BBC Essex, BBC Norfolk or BBC Suffolk.