Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam joined celebrations at Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to mark the work it is doing to support the Armed Forces community.

The former deputy chief medical officer for England, who led on health protection during the Covid-19 pandemic and is best known for the televised Downing Street press conferences during the pandemic, visited King’s Mill Hospital, Sutton.

He presented a Veteran Aware plaque to David Selwyn, acting chief executive at the trust, and members of its Armed Forces Staff Network.

The plaque, which recognises the trust achieving the gold standard accreditation from the Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance, highlights a commitment to treat those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces, and their families, fairly.

It is on display at King’s Mill and will soon be on show at Newark and Mansfield Community hospitals.

David said: “Our recent accreditation is a result of continuous improvement over several years to recognise and support our Armed Forces colleagues and the additional healthcare needs of veterans and serving patients.

“Along with the launch of our Armed Forces Staff Network, this is just the start. It’s important that we keep our commitment at the forefront of our minds in everything we are doing to improve lives.”

Sir Jonathan, known as JVT, comes from a military family and is Honorary Colonel of the Army Cadet Force. Speaking to members of the staff network, he praised the trust’s work to put veterans on the map, both in the trust and in the local area.

Among those present were Retired Colonel Kelvin Wright, who is specialist and head of service in Critical Care, and Brent Gillicker, clinical educator and surgical first assistant in Trauma and Orthopaedics. Brent, who served in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, played a key role in setting up the network. He presented Sir Jonathan with information about King’s Mill’s history as the first US army hospital in England during the second world war.

At a lecture to healthcare professionals, including consultants, junior doctors, medical students, and nurses, Sir Jonathan joked that he was familiar with the work of the trust because a member of his family had spent a lot of time as a patient in the X-ray department at Newark Hospital.

He thanked staff for their work during the pandemic, saying he knew how awful and traumatic the unprecedented situation was.

Sir Jonathan, an expert in respiratory viruses and vaccines, talked about his career history, challenges faced during the pandemic and how they were tackled, and the importance of good communication.

He provided behind-the-scenes insight into the televised press briefings at No 10 during the pandemic before taking questions from attendees. Sir Jonathan also talked to medical students.