Caring For Those Who Cared For Their Country…

A North East care provider has joined forces with a charity committed to caring for former servicemen and women.

Prestwick Care has launched a new initiative to help Veterans for Veterans in Care, which provides support, help and guidance for former members of the British Armed Forces living in residential care homes across the region.

And a small battalion of former Army and Navy personnel visited one of the company’s 19 homes, Blythgate Manor, at Blyth, to mark the start of a 12-month fundraising campaign.

Prestwick Care has committed to placing collection boxes in its homes across Northumberland, Newcastle, Sunderland and North and South Tyneside to receive donations from staff, residents, visitors and the general public.

And at the end of the year, the company will match the total amount raised.

There are more than 26,000 armed forces veterans in care homes in England and Wales, according to the 2021 census.

And Veterans for Veterans in Care ensures they receive regular visits from other former armed forces volunteers and connects them with the wider veteran community.

“They are our forgotten army,” said Lee Moore, who served with the Royal Pioneer Corps and now is an active member of the charity.

“The Services are very much like a family and, when someone goes into a care home, it’s easy for them to lose their ties with that family.

“It can be hard for them if they have no one to share their memories with who really knows and understands what they went through – the good times and the bad – and that is where we come in.”

Prestwick Care is now inviting anyone who wants to support the campaign to call into its homes and make a donation, in the knowledge it will be matched by the company at the end of the year-long campaign.

“It’s an absolute privilege for us to care for those who have served their country,” said CEO Bunty Malhotra, “and we didn’t think twice about supporting Veterans for Veterans in Care.

“Our care homes are at the very heart of their communities – communities these men and women served to preserve – and we hope those communities will get behind our campaign and help us make a real difference.