National Armed Forces Day
We are proud that both NCH&C and CCS are accredited as Veterans Aware and Defence Employer Scheme silver organisations. This means we understand and strive to meet the unique needs of veterans, reservists and their families. It is important we all work to help improve healthcare access, outcomes creating a more joined-up experience for this community.
Norfolk Community Health and Care & Cambridgeshire Community Services recognise the sacrifice and contributions of military personnel and their families and are committed to providing them with the healthcare services that they deserve.
To mark #ArmedForcesWeek, we spoke with two colleagues-Dom, who shared how he transferred his military skills to a career in the NHS, and Sarah, who reflected on life as a military wife and the impact it has had on her and her family.
I'm Dom, and I'm the Business Intelligence and Reporting Manager at NCH&C, helping the Trust's management and clinical teams understand and use information and data effectively.
I spent 23 years in uniform and left as a Warrant Officer Class 2 in the Royal Army Medical Corps. I was a Combat Medical Technician, providing primary and emergency care. During my service, I deployed on combat operations, worked as part of the 3rd Division's medical planning team, supported civil-military cooperation, and provided medical support as part of disaster response and relief operations. I even completed a placement with the anti-corruption NGO Transparency International. I finished my military career as the military systems operations lead for the MoD's electronic patient record system.
My work took me around the world - including Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kenya, Germany, and Sierra Leone - collaborating with the UN, NHS, Foreign Office, other militaries, charities, and NGOs.
Leaving the Army brought many challenges and changes. I didn't just change jobs - I changed the nature of my work, translating military skills to a new context. I also moved house, adjusted to new working patterns (no longer living in Service Accommodation known as the Mess, which I was legally required to be part of), and even had to change how I communicated. I went from an environment where I was called Sir and saluted my manager to one where even the CEO goes by their first name.
The team I joined supported me through this transition, helping me understand the intricacies of the NHS. In turn, I brought new skills and perspectives to the team.
Two years on, I'm now chair the Armed Forces Community Network, working to support others on this journey and raise awareness of the unique needs of our armed forces patients and staff.
My partner is also a veteran, which helped a lot but it can be lonely for some, you lose a lot of social networks when you leave the military and often the ones you had before joining have changed or have gone as well, staff networks can help with this as they can help you understand you're not the only one with these experiences and background - and help you find support if needed.
I left the Army seeking a more settled life, and NCH&C has supported me every step of the way since offering me the role. I loved my time in the military and still miss parts of it, but it fundamentally changes you - no matter how long or where you served. It also affects your family and friends more than many realise. Understanding that is key to supporting both our staff and our patients.
Sarah Saul - Business Manager/Operational Manager, Cambridge Community Services
I am passionate about helping to drive an improvement in accessing health care for people who have served in the UK armed forces and for their families too. As a Military wife, I know the frustration of starting again with referrals, test and treatments from moving around the UK. I hope that by being a veteran aware organisation we can all help support veterans find NHS careers and positive patient experiences in our Trust!
My name is Sarah Saul, and I lead the Dynamic Health business unit which is the Musculo-skeletal Physiotherapy and Specialist Provider across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
My husband Peter Saul joined the Royal Air Force in 1991, and his career has taken him around the UK and overseas.
Since 1991 we have moved across Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, residing at 10 different houses which has been destabilising.
From a medical/dental perspective we have faced many challenges. As 'wife of' a serving officer I was not entitled to receive any medical or dental care on any of the bases where we lived. Because of this I faced a lack of continuity for medical treatment, which has meant that we constantly have had to restart on pathways for investigations or go back to the beginning of operation/procedure waiting lists. We obviously had to register with different doctors every time we moved house, which was made harder when living in rural areas where choice of GP's were non-existent and different counties in the UK have different health care provision for certain services.
We have always experienced issues with dentists, which as we all know are constantly in short supply, and in some areas, I could not find a dentist so had to travel two hours back to my previous dentist to continue dental care. Both my medical and dental services have been fragmented, disconnected and not joined up and have fallen short of both continuity and choice.
I welcome the work being done to address these issues with the Veterans Aware standards, I hope it will provide veterans and their families with better healthcare opportunities.
Our diversity is important; it makes us who we are and can impact the way that we view the world. It can also support us to improve our experience of how the world views us, therefore improving our opportunities, access care and employment.
We are proud to be able to support our Armed Forces community and show our appreciation to all serving Armed Forces personnel and veterans for their service.