While the former allies prepared to mark the anniversary of D-Day today, GPs met with armed forces veterans to discuss how to improve their care.

The event, staged by the Royal College of GPs, was the latest in the drive to encourage practices to become veteran friendly and involve the NHS Veterans Trauma Network.

Overall there are 2.6 million veterans in England, Wales and Scotland and 18,000 service staff return to civilian life annually, including 2,000 discharged on medical grounds.

Doctors at the event heard how health needs vary for the different generations of veterans who have been involved in conflicts such as Northern Ireland, the Falklands, Iraq and in some cases World War Two and its aftermath in Europe and Asia. In turn doctors stressed the difficulty they have in identifying veterans seeking help from practices.

College honorary secretary Dr Jonathan Leach said: “GPs want to do the very best for all our patients, but one of the challenges we face in general practice is that we are not always aware of how many veterans we have on our practice lists, especially when patients choose not to divulge their veteran status.

“This event will support family doctors and other health professionals in becoming more aware of the needs of their patients who are armed forces veterans, and make sure that healthcare professionals are aware of the various referral pathways to specialist help, including Veterans Trauma Network and Veterans’ Mental Health Transition, Intervention and Liaison Service.

“These people have served our country, often the detriment of their own health and the stability of their family life. We owe them a great deal, not least in making sure that they have access to high quality NHS care and services.”