The NHS benefitted from the military expertise and experiences of veterans, which has been invaluable at this challenging time of coronavirus outbreak.
These veterans are providing vital skills on a range of projects to help the country tackle the Covid-19 outbreak from redesigning hospital departments to safely support COVID and non COVID patients, to providing care for patients in the Nightingale hospitals and supporting nurses using military mental health resilience techniques.
One of the veterans who served the country with pride is former soldier Joshua Ryder. He has seen a pandemic close up, having volunteered to visit Sierra Leone during the West African Ebola virus outbreak.
The 30-year-old worked as a combat medical technician of Royal Army Medical Core, in what was known as a “red zone” in Kerry Town, 19 miles from capital Freetown. He received awards for Top Trainee and Adult Learner of the Year.
Joshua said: “We treated patients with confirmed or suspected Ebola. The symptoms are similar to those of malaria and gastroenteritis.
“We triaged and tested patients to determine whether they had these or Ebola.”
The West African outbreak began in 2014, ending in Sierra Leone in 2016 resulting in more than 28,600 cases with 11,325 deaths. Joshua worked in the area for 30 days. He said: “I loved the country. It has some beautiful sights and the people are really friendly.
“It was sad to see the devastation caused by the pandemic. We didn’t only focus on the pandemic. We visited orphanages and helped build something for the country.
“It was moving to see the children who lost their parents to the virus,” recalled Joshua.
Having left the army in 2018, he is now a trainee-nursing associate on a Midlands Partnership NHS Trust acute mental health ward in Stafford. Joshua, who is father to Tia, aged 12, and her 10-year-old sister Lola, said: “Day to day I am more involved with the physical well-being of the patients – calming them, making physical observations, doing ECGs and bloods.
“I go to Keele University one day a week and am due to start my second year in September.”
It was Joshua’s experiences and expertise in the army that led him to the NHS in general, and mental health in particular.
He said: “I have worked in demanding conditions in various locations around the world. I am adaptable to suit many environments and job roles.
In the military he saw first hand soldiers suffering poor mental health.
He said: “I entered the NHS through the Step into Health programme, which has been brilliant. I was able to show them what I had done and my experiences counted.
“There was a lot of competition for the Trainee Nursing Associate place. I have been able to prove myself and have had really positive feedback.
“I won an award for Outstanding Impact Since Joining the NHS at the programme’s first ceremony.”
Joshua is helping to treat patients through more difficult times than usual.
“We are doing absolutely brilliantly,” he said. “It would be abnormal, with all the constant changes, if we did not experience stress and anxiety.
“We have adapted and made changes. Here our patients have been brilliant.
“We have got a good team here, a good mix of people with different skills. We all support each other and do everything we can for our patients.”
Joshua has also been a volunteer with men’s mental health charity Men Unite, supporting males in crisis.
He ran a half marathon last year to raise £500 for Mental Health UK.
“And this month I am running 100 miles, having so far raised £795 for the same charity through JustGiving,” he said.
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