The new MP for Wycombe met residents and staff at a veterans’ care home in her constituency.
Emma Reynolds visited Royal Star & Garter in High Wycombe on Friday 13 September, where she was given a tour of the award-winning Home by the charity’s Chief Executive Andy Cole and Home Manager Reggie Ballos.
Following her visit, the MP, who is also the government’s minister for pensions, praised the care provided by staff at the Home, saying: “This is a beautiful environment for people to live in.”
Royal Star & Garter is a charity which provides loving, compassionate care to veterans and their partners living with disability or dementia. It also has Homes in Solihull and Surbiton, and has launched several new services reaching out into the community.
During her tour, Ms Reynolds learned about the exceptional level of dementia and nursing care provided at the Home, along with new services which tackle loneliness and isolation among the veteran community in Buckinghamshire and beyond. This includes Day Care, Lunch Club and a free-to-use Telephone Friendship Service. She was also told of the charity’s plans to help working-age veterans who require care and support or are living with disabilities.
The MP also learned about the Veteran Friendly Framework, a nationwide project designed to deliver improved health and wellbeing outcomes to the 25,000 veterans living in care homes across England. It is a collaboration between Royal Star & Garter, Royal British Legion and the NHS Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA – an NHS flagship Armed Forces programme), with funding support from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust.
Ms Reynolds met residents including Cynthia Fowler, the first female RAF Air Commodore, and people using Day Care. She also took part in a crossword session and Movement to Music exercises.
Afterwards, the MP said: “It’s wonderful to visit Royal Star & Garter and meet the residents. This is a beautiful Home for people to live in, and I was very impressed with the care it provides, and the high standard of dementia care it has to offer.”
Royal Star & Garter’s Chief Executive Andy Cole said: “We were pleased to welcome Emma Reynolds to our Home in High Wycombe, and show her our exceptional work caring for veterans and their partners. She was also able to see our work in supporting the wider veteran community through our new services, and how it is helping people living in her constituency and across the country.”
