Page 142 - Mind, Body and Spirit No. 105 2021/22

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www.raptcassociation.org.uk
Having been out of the rehab world for seven years, it was great to be back in the Department of Defence Rehabilitation (DDR), sitting as Head of the ERI Cadre.
Since that time, Headley Court had closed and the DMRC moved to its new home at Stanford Hall (SH). What a facility it is! Whilst rehabilitation delivery remains pretty much the same, executed by our great ERIs as always, there is change ahead. At the time of writing, DPHC are undergoing structural changes, which will see rehab being delivered in various pillars: RRU, PCRF and DMRC, each with its own command structure. With this sees the natural break-up of what was DDR, with various team members being split across each rehab pillar. Gone are the days of the DDR team, sat in the beautiful surroundings of Headley Court, talking about the next round of golf. Def Rehab remains alive; with many changes in the healthcare space, our RAPTC ERIs still provide that fantastic service to our injured population.
WO1 (SMI) D Slade-Jones RAPTC
A year in Def Rehab has seen great characters come and go, notably, we said farewell to Maj (MAA) Billy Young and hello to Maj (MAA) Steve Chappell as the ERI’s Head of Cadre. Both individuals have been instrumental in driving the ERI defence vision, whilst mentoring and supporting the next generation of RAPTCIs. We have developed a very close working relationship with Joint Service School of Exercise Rehabilitation Instructors (JSSERI) and DMRC SH Corps personnel, which has been instrumental in maintaining Force Generation during the national pandemic. The TEAMWORK ethos demonstrated within the Rehab Cadre is extraordinary and long may it endure.
HQ Def Rehab, JSSERI and DMRC SH RAPTC personnel outside HQ DMRC SH.
Some highlights have seen Maj Chappell qualify as a Football Referee and represent the RAPTC at the Inter-Corps Athletics Championship, along with WO1 Slade-Jones’s continued commitment to the ARU Academy and RAPTC RFC as Head Coach. After three years working within HQ Def Rehab, I now say farewell to Rehab and move into higher education. I have commissioned into the RAPTC and will start an MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology with Loughborough University this summer. I make way for newly promoted WO1 (SMI) Hughes RAPTC who is due to take over the role in Jun. All in all, I have learnt a great deal from working within a strategic organisation alongside good people that has put me in excellent stead for future roles.
DDR & REHABILITATION
HQ DEFENCE REHABILITATION
Maj (MAA) SA Chappell RAPTC and WO1 (SMI) D Slade-Jones RAPTC
DEFENCE MEDICAL REHABILITATION CENTRE (DMRC) STANFORD HALL
WO2 (QMSI) L Hathaway RAPTC
DMRC Stanford Hall has had another testing year due to Coronavirus, which has caused disruptions to both staff and patients at times. Despite the challenges presented in
the last two years particularly, the Unit has acquired the ability to manoeuvre safely amongst COVID-19 and deliver high quality, evidence-based and effective rehabilitation.
The COVID-19 rehabilitation course remained as the key effort for the Unit throughout 2021/22. The course continues to be delivered at DMRC for a duration of two-weeks with a multi-disciplinary effort from many clinicians. Education is the main topic of the course in which the patients learn the importance of pacing, breathing and coping strategies for health anxieties. The course has had a positive impact on patients since being established and hopefully by the time this article is published, Primary Healthcare will be leading with the delivery to support Service personnel.
The summer months offered the opportunity for DMRC to return to some form of normality with various events being held across the Unit for all members of staff. The Unit Health Fair was a very successful event and re-established regional links with external organisations and public services. The extremely popular family’s day returned and Mess life across all ranks has been reinvigorated through hosting their respective summer functions.
The increasing threat of the omicron variant raised concern amongst DMRC due to the accelerating rate of infection close to
the Christmas period. Infection and prevention control measures were extremely robust, and for good reason, as the unit held a high number of vulnerable patients on the wards. This caused all force generation courses to suspend activity with the main effort of staff realigning their roles in support of Op RESCRIPT.
Although it’s been an extremely challenging couple of years, the Unit has never lost sight of providing safe and effective specialist interdisciplinary rehabilitation services to meet the needs of patients and the chain of command. There is a great sense of optimism at DMRC in 2022 due to the reduction of COVID-19 restrictions and the Unit will undoubtably flourish, mostly because of the fantastic staff on site.
RAPTC ERI Force Generation Insight
Sgt (SI) D Charmer RAPTC
Since the turn of the year in 2021, the spines and upper quadrants (SUQ) have had a busy period with increasing numbers of patients whilst regularly supporting the COVID-19 rehabilitation course. The turnaround of staff has been more frequent than usual; however, the new additions have integrated into the team very well. This was my second year within force generation and the knowledge gained since being at DMRC has been invaluable.
The latter end of 2021 saw the annual rotation of the ERIs across all departments and involved all Services, inclusive of the Royal