A care home which has looked after veterans for more than 100 years has won a top honour as an employer and supporter of the armed forces community.
Broughton House Veteran Care Village in Salford has been recognised by the government with a gold award under the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme.
It is the highest badge of honour available under the Ministry of Defence initiative.
To win a gold award, an organisation must show exceptional commitment to supporting the armed forces community, such as by implementing forces-friendly HR recruiting and selection processes, encouraging others to do the same, promoting the Armed Forces Covenant to their networks and supporting the cadet movement.
Broughton House is one of 193 organisations to receive gold status in the latest round of awards. Among those to also be honoured are Google, B&Q and Expedia.com.
Sandhurst-trained Karen Miller, chief executive of Broughton House, who served as an officer in the Intelligence Corps and in the Territorial Army with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, said: “We have a long and proud history of caring for veterans from the north west and beyond, and it is extremely pleasing for us to be now recognised for employing and supporting veterans, reservists and their relatives.
“The gold award demonstrates our commitment in this regard and we hope our achievement will inspire others to follow suit.
“Having veterans as part of our team is crucial to Broughton House and our residents’ particular needs. They have a deep understanding of the culture, ethos and pathos of the residents we care for and can help non-veteran staff to better understand them and their needs.
“By doing so, this creates an element of familiarity for our residents, as they have people looking after them who understand them, their routines and their past lives without having to explain themselves.”
Among the veterans, reservists and their relatives employed at Broughton House is former reserve army nurse Natasha Eardley-Dutton, who is the home’s first dedicated Admiral Nurse, a specialist dementia role.
Museum curator Owen Hammond is a former RAF pilot. Jason Molloy, a dementia care navigator at the home’s Armed Forces Support Hub, is a former bombardier with the Royal Artillery, and hub colleague Sarah Whyte, a complex care navigator for working age veterans, is a reserve combat medic with 156 Regiment Royal Logistics Corps.
Broughton House director of care Jane Green’s husband served in the RAF and carer Gabrielle Wallace’s son is in the Royal Navy.
As well as caring for veterans and employing former servicemen and women and serving reservists, Broughton House supports the armed forces community in a variety of other ways, including staging events to mark significant military anniversaries, hosting visits by cadets, reservists and other groups, and residents and staff representing the armed forces community at events and ceremonies.
Broughton House also has a dedicated military museum, which celebrates the heroics of many of the veterans it has cared for since it opened in 1916.
The site was recently redeveloped into a complex with a 64-bed care home, including two 16-bed households dedicated to veterans with dementia, as well as independent living apartments, an array of modern facilities, a museum, gym, hairdressing and barber’s salon, and a restaurant and bar for residents.
Broughton House was honoured at last year’s Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester Awards with a commendation in recognition of its support for veterans and members of the reserve forces and cadets.
Also in 2023, Broughton House became the first care home in the north to be accredited as Veteran Aware by the Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance.
The alliance is a group of NHS healthcare providers whose aim is to improve care standards for armed forces veterans. Broughton House was praised by the assessors for having a first-class ethos.