Page 4 - The Gazette Autumn 2024

4 The Gazette QARANC Association
Autumn is a time of change, but our future remains bright
This Autumn edition of the Gazette is poignant for many reasons. Autumn is a season of change be it the weather or the leaves on the trees. There are similar changes happening within the Corps.
I am moving on as the Chief Nursing Officer and handing the baton to the next Nurse in the Army to take on this amazing role. We have a new Regimental Secretary in Susie Squires (a long-awaited addition to the team), a change of government and a new Strategic Defence and Security Review that is due to complete in the middle of next year. The one other potential change may come under Project Victoria.
At the time of writing there has been no announcement of the decision of whether to amalgamate the three human healthcare Corps (RAMC, RADC and QARANC) or keep the status quo. The election of a new government has impacted on the timing of the announcement, and we will have to continue to wait to see what the outcome is. Either way there will always be the requirement for nursing in the Army and there will always be a Chief Nursing Officer to lead the Nurses and Health Care Assistants into the future.
Although there is change ongoing there is still time to celebrate the remainder of our 75th Anniversary and reflect on what an amazing year it has been! Hopefully many of you have been able to join in with the celebrations. The Officers Mess had an excellent Dinner in Edinburgh Castle with our Colonel in Chief the Duchess of Edinburgh, it was a memorable night enjoyed by all. There was the Association lunch hosted in the Grand Hotel in Birmingham that was outstanding, bringing people together. The highlight of our celebrations though was the study period looking at where we have come from and how history continues to inform the future, followed by the Dinner at Hampton Court Palace for all members of the Corps Regular, Reserve and Veterans, it was a sensational location fit for our 75th Anniversary, the photo spread in this edition will give an insight of the night for anyone that could not attend.
I would like to thank all the people who worked hard to put on all of those 75th Anniversary events I know how much work and dedication to make them a success went into their organisation.
Once again QAs continue to excel, there are articles from Cpl King taking part in Bobsleigh for Nigeria. Cpl Neame climbing Mt Kilimanjaro and QAs taking part in the Nijmegen Marches. Congratulations goes to Maj Robert Garbett who received an ARRC, a very well-deserved award for all his hard work. A special mention must go to the support to the Corps that is given by WO1 Deborah Hamilton as our Representative Sgt Maj. She has
I have had some great opportunities and worked with some exceptional people, many of whom I owe a debt of gratitude for their support and patience.
kept me on track and supported the Corps and the Association superbly, her commitment makes her a great role model for us all.
When I look back on my career as I come to end my time in the Army I have been proud of serving in the QARANC as a nurse in the Army, I have had some great opportunities and worked with some exceptional people, many of whom I owe a debt of gratitude for their support and patience. I hope those Nurses and HCAs who I saw graduate at BCU and DMS Whittington take their opportunities and enjoy their time in the Army as much as I have.
I would like to end on a note of thanks to you all. I have been extremely well supported during my tenure by many of you, some directly and some indirectly. Special thanks go to all those nurses who are doing additional roles to take nursing in the Army and the QARANC forward. Many of them in their roles as Senior Nurse Advisors taking their cadres forward and engaging with the Advancing Army Nursing Practice Working Group that has been essential in the input into the many projects that are ongoing in the Army now. You should all be proud about where we have come as a Corps from delivering the best care possible to our patients when deployed, in the JHGs or within DPHC to the branches and association who care for our colleagues in need. All of you embody the spirit of the Corps
I wish all of you the best for the future, in Friendship.
Col Paul Jackson KHN, CNO (Army) President of the QARANC Association