Federation officials impressed with Flint House

2 August 2022

Suffolk Police Federation’s chair and secretary have visited the Flint House police rehabilitation centre in Oxfordshire to get an insight into the facilities and treatments available to officers.

Chair Darren Harris said he was impressed not just with Flint House itself but also the grounds and the setting.

“It has a very relaxing feel about it,” says Darren, who has long encouraged Federation members to subscribe to the rehabilitation centre.

“By visiting Flint House in person, I feel I now have an even better insight into the treatments and support offered so that I can better explain to officers the different approaches that are available to them.”

Branch secretary Ben Hudson added: “The location, grounds and facilities really are excellent. During our visit three Suffolk officers were staying at Flint House and we were able to speak to two of them. They had nothing but praise for the treatment they were receiving.

“Like so many other aspects of life, Covid has brought about a change to the way in which Flint House provides support. They are now more flexible with a blended approach to treatment incorporating online and home-based support, day patient treatment as well as the more traditional residential stays.”

At Flint House are (left to right) Ben Hudson, Suffolk officers Rachel Gibson and Kevin Miller, and Darren Harris.

Flint House, which is in Goring-on-Thames, offers physical and mental rehabilitation and support services. It has a well-equipped, state of the art gym, fully accessible swimming and hydrotherapy pools and offers intensive, personalised physiotherapy.

Within the grounds, there is a mental health lodge where therapists provide individual and group sessions, as well as an all-weather pitch used for physical rehabilitation, leisure activities and bleep test training.

Flint House also offers a bespoke, virtual conditioning programme which can help officers get into shape for their next fitness test.

The centre has 158 guest bedrooms, all with en suite bathrooms, freeview and free WiFi. It has a restaurant providing three meals a day prepared by a dedicated catering team using free and locally sourced ingredients.

Flint House is a charity, entirely funded by donations from those in the police service and their families. It helps 3,000 serving and retired police officers each year.

Only around half of Suffolk officers actually subscribe to Flint House currently.

It costs no more than a cup of coffee a week to subscribe. Serving officers pay a donation of £7.37 a month via direct debit to apply for access to Flint House's residential, outpatient and virtual treatments. 

To sign up, simply email the Force charities coordinator asking to subscribe to Flint House and the rest will be done for you.

If you’re a former officer with a police pension or medical pension you can apply for treatment at Flint House. A donation of £5 per month gives retired officers access to the same clinical services as serving officers. Find out more.

Read the testimony of a Suffolk officer who visited Flint House earlier this year.