Former Armed Forces personnel are being encouraged to join the NHS as Allied Health Professionals (AHPs).
This initiative is part of a broader programme to increase the number of AHPs by around 70,000 by 2036/37.
More than 100 veterans have already shown interest by signing up for events where experts from organisations such as Guy’s and St Thomas’ present the roles and responsibilities of AHPs.
The programme is a collaboration between Guy’s and St Thomas’, NHS England, and several universities, aimed at recruiting both serving and retired armed forces personnel, as well as their families, into 14 allied health professions.
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Winchester resident Alex Oliver, an operating department practitioner, joined Guy’s and St Thomas’ in 2019 after serving 12 years in the Royal Navy.
He moved into the NHS after getting married and wanting a more settled life at home.
He said: "I’d always had an interest in science and we trained as level 3 first-aiders in the Navy.
"I originally thought about doing nursing and did a year of nursing at King’s College Hospital.
"But one day I went to the operating theatres at Guy’s Hospital for a patient follow-through and I thought, ‘wow!’. This is a completely different atmosphere.
"It’s more dynamic and more suited to environments I’d been to in the past."
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During the Covid-19 pandemic, Alex was able to use his military background to help.
He said: "The pace changed and suddenly we were responding to an emergency.
"But in terms of organisation and putting new policies and procedures in place, that was stuff I’d done before.
"I got involved in trying to implement the cleaning routines without cross-contamination, which was similar to the Navy and their chemical and biological warfare routines."
Alex also sees similarities in communication styles between the operating theatre and a warship.
He said: "There are a list of aims that need to be achieved for the day, each person has a fundamental role, or they wouldn’t be there.
"And because of the pace, you have to be direct, you have to have confidence in your team and in your own skills."
Fiona Sandford, a consultant physiotherapist and clinical lead of Armed Forces at Guy’s and St Thomas’, said: "As an Armed Forces spouse I know the resilience, adaptability and dedication of the Armed Forces community.
"These are just the transferable skills we are looking for in the NHS."
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