Pandemic puts NHS and Armed Forces partnership into the spotlight

The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the biggest challenges the NHS has ever had to face, and the partnership between the Armed Forces and the NHS has been highlighted.

Many NHS staff have been redeployed to work on COVID-19-related roles. Gavin Jones, a veteran who now works as Head of Governance, Risk & Compliance at KFM (owned by Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust), shared his experiences about being asked to take on a different role and work in supply chain management and logistics, ensuring PPE was distributed accordingly.

Before joining the NHS, Gavin undertook a work placement at an NHS organisation, as part of the Step into health programme. The programme aims to highlight the many transferable skills Armed Forces personnel can bring to roles and also encourage NHS organisations to publicly commit to supporting the recruitment of members of the Armed Forces Community into the NHS.

Gavin attributes his Armed Forces background to being able to carry out the task to a high standard and being able to perform well under immense pressure. He served for 24 years in the Royal Logistic Corps, taking part in deployments to the former Yugoslavia, Northern Ireland, Iraq, and Afghanistan. His last role was as a Brigade Ordnance Warrant Officer.

Gavin said: “I feel that my experiences of having served a career in the British Army made it straightforward to quickly switch to a different role that supported the defence against COVID-19. The two key strengths I utilised were regular and comprehensive two-way communications, with a foundation based on great stakeholder relationships and robust, but simple, planning.”

This is a shortened version of an article first published in Forces News. To read the full article, click here.