COUNTY Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust has pledged its commitment to supporting the Armed Forces community.

The Trust has signed an Armed Forces Covenant which acknowledges the valuable contribution serving personnel, veterans, and military families make to public services and the wider community.

In a joint ceremony, Darlington Borough Council also reaffirmed its commitment to the Covenant.

The ceremony took place in Memorial Hall, at Darlington Hospital, also the location of the town’s war memorial, where the names of all of the Darlington men who died serving in the First World War are engraved.

Covenants were signed by Sue Jacques, chief executive at the NHS Trust, and the mayor of Darlington, Nick Wallis, on behalf of the council.

Ms Jacques, said: “A number of our staff have been members of the Armed Forces, or are reservists, combining their role with us and serving their country.

“It’s humbling that some of our medical and nursing colleagues have used their amazing skills serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and were also deployed to Sierra Leone during the Ebola crisis, caring for members of our forces and civilians.

“We’re proud of the dedication they show their patients, wherever they’re caring for them whether it’s here or in a field hospital somewhere else in the world.”