Page 159 - Mind, Body and Spirit No. 105 2021/22

PRIMARY CARE REHABILITATION FACILITY (PCRF) SHORNCLIFFE
Sgt (SI) M Bolstridge RAPTC
“Your talent determines what you can do. Your motivation determines how much you are willing to do. Your attitude determines how well you do” – Lou Holtz
28 June 21, the highly anticipated start date of my new career as an ERI, in a stand-alone post at PCRF Shorncliffe, the place had character and the Physios were friendly, I couldn’t
ask for much more than that. The PCRF department is situated within the main gym at Sir John Moore Bks, Shorncliffe Garrison, the home of 1 Royal Gurkha Rifles (RGR).
The department consists of two civilian physios; Dave (an ex-bootneck WO2), the man is a wealth of knowledge, if he doesn’t know something about MSKIs it isn’t worth knowing, then there’s Jennie, the nicest person you could ever meet, also the longest serving member within the PCRF, who has provided a top-class service for 22 years. Then there’s me, the one military ERI, Sgt Martin Bolstridge and an administration clerk called Lea-anne – highly skilled in all things technology. The team provides support to all soldiers in Shorncliffe Garrison, roughly 900 patients at risk, with the Gurkhas making most of that figure.
The past eight months have been a roller coaster, starting with the initial, mammoth task of completing all the Defence Primary Health Care intro courses, this was enough to make the strongest of men crumble, luckily for myself, I remained positive and persistent and completed it within the specified timeframe of three months (just about). Not only have my computer skills been tested, but the grey matter has also been working extremely hard to retain my newfound knowledge, the Post Graduate Mentorship Pack, something all newly qualified ERIs are required to do, has been a significant help with reinforcing the knowledge learnt.
A busy period from Jul 21 until Dec 21 saw 1 RGR deploy to Estonia on Op ELGIN and several exercises at home and oversees. Surprisingly, there hasn’t been an overwhelming amount of MSKIs, something I thought would have been inevitable due to the large training volume from the unit, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Physically strong & robust, the Gurkha Soldiers are one of the most resilient I have worked with.
There have been some fantastic opportunities for professional development, like attending CPD workshops, peer reviews at PCRF London, and regional In-Service Training at Colchester and Aldershot, this has been beneficial to cement knowledge, skills & experience. I have also assisted in the delivery of clinical training to
Sgt Bolstridge at 1RGR Health Fair
physios and ERI’s within London south east region and provided an exercise therapy stand on the 1 RGR Health Fair.
Amongst all the skin rubbing and endless hours of reading my clinical anatomy and exercise therapy books, I have had the privilege to play for RAPTC FC, attending a training camp in Portsmouth, and all fixtures thereafter, I am now looking forward to the Canada tour in early May. February was an interesting month, I was asked to be the rock-climbing supervisor for a Coy AT package, I excitedly accepted the offer but soon realised the daunting task ahead, but with some good preparation, the week was a success. I have also been assisting P Coy pre-training with 1 RGR PT staff, designing a physical training lesson specifically for milling, which has received good feedback.
1 RGR are sadly leaving for Brunei in July 22 and we welcome 2 RGR who have been in Brunei for the past 4 years, this will offer new challenges for the department. The PCRF is a fantastic place to work, as a team we are continually looking at new innovative ways to make the practice better. I believe 2 RGR will be in good hands throughout their tenure at Sir John Moore Barracks. With the experience, motivation and positive attitude from the staff, only good things will come.
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1RGR Pre-PCoy Milling Training