The stories of CTM reservists
Today CTMUHB is celebrating the role reservists play in our organisation and the expertise they bring to their daily roles in our health board.
Read the stories of two of our reservists and what the role means to them.
Philip Thomas - Operating Department Anaesthetics Practitioner, Prince Charles Hospital
I have been with the Army Reserves for the past 35 years, my first 10 years were spent with the infantry, serving with the 3rd Battalion Royal Regiment of Wales. I qualified in 1996 as an Operating Department Practitioner (ODP), and then transferred to 203 (Welsh) Field Hospital where I became one of their ODPs.
Over the years I have participated in many large exercises all over the world, where we would train for military operations. My favourite was attending a Medical Emergency Response Team training exercise, where we practised picking up casualties on the ground and loading them into a Chinook helicopter and treating them while flying. Also, I was selected to go to America as an instructor for outdoor activities; this was an amazing experience.
During my service with 203 (Welsh) Field Hospital I have been on five operational tours, which included Iraq and Afghanistan. I was fortunate in 2008 to have been selected to manage the operating theatres at the hospital in Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, which was challenging but worth all the experience. This encouraged me to apply for an Army commission, which I was later selected for and promoted to Captain.
Through being with the Army Reserves, it has given me experiences outside of those I would have gained in the NHS. I have transferred clinical, life-saving, and leadership skills back into the NHS.
I will retire next year from the Army Reserve and will miss it so much. I would encourage any healthcare personnel in the NHS to join as it offers so much.
Iwan Wyn Griffiths - Principal Pharmacist, Royal Glamorgan Hospital
Having previously attended Exercise Medical Stretch (a team building and leadership skills training weekend laid on by the Army Medical Services (AMS) Reserve for NHS Wales staff), and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, I decided to apply to join the Army Reserve in 2019.
I have always particularly enjoyed spending time in the outdoors, and I wanted to do something different which was both physically as well as mentally challenging. I felt that the AMS Reserve would provide me with an opportunity to combine my pharmacist skills (i.e. my current job in the NHS) with the activities that I enjoy outside of work.
Following a 12 month selection process (delayed as a result of the COVID outbreak), I was finally able to join the Army Medical Services (AMS) Reserve in December 2020. In October of the following year I commissioned from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst as a ‘Professionally Qualified Officer’ (a pharmacist) in the Royal Army Medical Corps (203 Multirole Medical Regiment (MMR) – “The Welsh Medics”).
My primary role in the AMS Reserve is to provide a medicines management service to sick and injured military personnel and others in a range of uniquely challenging operational and training environments around the world. However, my pharmacy skills are transferable to a number of other roles within the AMS Reserve, and I am currently involved in planning, delivering and managing medical equipment support to 203 MMR. Since joining the Army Reserve, I have had the opportunity to take part in military training exercises in the UK, France, Italy, and the Netherlands.
I believe that the skills and experience I have gained from my reservist role have helped me to be a more effective member of the health board’s pharmacy team through gaining self-confidence, increased resilience, and improved leadership and team building skills.
During my time in the AMS Reserve, I have met some truly amazing and inspiring individuals. 203 MMR is made up of a number of different healthcare professionals as well as individuals from varied backgrounds not directly related to healthcare as we in the NHS think of it. However, all members of 203 MMR are determined to provide the best possible healthcare to our armed forces personnel whether in the UK or abroad.
21/06/2024