Supporting our Veterans

Recently, I welcomed the distribution to various healthcare providers of a leaflet drawing attention to the issues faced by many of our ex-service personnel. This leaflet contained new advice and specialist information for both healthcare workers and our armed forces veterans and is intended to work alongside the veteran healthcare guide, which is available online, to help ensure that healthcare workers can identify veterans and ensure they receive the best, and most appropriate care.

Making sure that veterans are known to health workers is an important part of ensuring that they are able to access specialist services through the NHS, including priority treatment for service-related conditions where needed and advice on physical and mental recovery relating to health concerns specific to veterans.

Ensuring that healthcare providers are fully aware of the support and priority treatment that is available to veterans will go a long way towards ensuring that as many veterans as possible are accessing the help they are entitled to.

It is important that we do everything we can to support our veterans. After everything they have given on our behalf, we have a duty to ensure that they have all the support and care that they may need. Making sure that veterans have access to all the information they need is an important part of making the readjustment back to civilian life.

This is a positive new source of advice for Scotland’s veteran community and a further demonstration of the Scottish Government’s determination to do all that it can to support our veterans.

Out and About

Our lengthy wet spell has so far failed to put a dampener on summer activity in the North East and recent weeks have seen a host of well-attended events going ahead. The New Deer Show, the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival, Peterhead Scottish Week and various local galas and pageants have seen local people, and those from further afield, come together to celebrate all aspects of our culture. With plenty more shows and events still to come in August, a good turn-out (hopefully aided by better weather and an influx of visitors) will serve to boost our local economy and heighten the profile of the North East as a fun, friendly and welcoming place to live, work and visit.

On the subject of entertainment, Peterhead F.C. also managed to put in a spirited performance against SPL side Dundee F.C., before losing narrowly on penalties in the Scottish Communities League Cup. However, despite the club facing Premier League opposition attendance, away fans notwithstanding, was not as high as might have been expected.

With so much football, from all over the world, so readily available on TV, clubs across the country are struggling with dwindling attendances. In a bid to reverse this trend August 11 sees the culmination of the national SellOutSaturday campaign, which is aimed at encouraging all of us to go along and support our local football team, no matter who they are or how well they might be doing. From Forres to Forfar, Peterhead to Pittodrie, many of us will have experienced the magic of seeing our team stride out on a summer’s day in front of a crowd bristling with excitement and expectation for the new season.

Just as attending the town gala or agricultural show brings us together as a community, by going along with friends and family to support our local team we can ensure they will be there for future generations to cheer on.

Mine’s a Bovril!