Page 33 - QARANC Vol 14 No 11 2015

The medical units of Lancashire have a long history of prize giving, dating back to their creation in the late 19th century. This ebbed and waned over the years, the present 207 Field Hospital awards were introduced in 2014 and take place at the annual St George’s dinner. There are six awards in total one of which is the nurse of the year.
The successful recipient is unaware of his or her nomination until a call is made and they are invited in to receive their award. The award is a bust of Capt Noel Godfrey Chavasse VC & Bar MC RAMC, this year the recipient was Cpl Rachel Falconer, due to a few mishaps she was eventually presented the award in the car park at the unit, however this did not detract from the surprise and pleasure she had on receiving
the award,
Cpl Falconer joined 207 Field Hospital Manchester in
January 2014 and quickly completed her Alpha and Bravo courses on her Bravo course her section exceled and she was awarded best recruit on her passing out parade.
She volunteered to mobilise to Sierra Leone on Operation Gritrock where she was given the responsibility of team leader. Whilst on deployment she was awarded The Brigade Commanders Commendation. Cpl Falconer helped organise and take part in a marathon whilst encouraging other to take part, she and two other members of the unit (Canadian Forces) completed the Marathon in the early hours of the morning and then went on to complete the half marathon a few days later inspiring a large number of the unit (22 field Hospital) to do the same or at least complete several laps
of the course. Before she returned she was informed that she had been nominated by the CO to meet the Countess of Wessex at Buckingham palace for afternoon tea along with several other Tranche members.
What a year she has had since joining the unit and its not over yet. She is an excellent role model for all new recruits and was awarded Nurse of the year by 207 FD Hosp a deserving recipient.
Maj Claire Davies Griffiths 207 Fd Hosp
THE GAZETTE QARANC 31
207 Field Hospital Nurse of the Year Award
From regular to reserve and completing
the Reserve PTI Basic Course
In March 2014 I left regular Army and my position as a community mental health nurse at DCMH Catterick. I had made this decision the previous September to be closer to my family, and although I had enjoyed my time. I have never considered this to have been the wrong decision. I have had no difficulty transitioning back to civilian life as I started my new job with the NHS the following Monday in the field of addictions. Despite my decision to leave the regular Army there remained a number of goals of a military nature I still wished to pursue and it seemed a natural choice to transfer to the Army reserve to enable these to remain a possibility.
In transferring to 225 medical regiment my first priority was to apply to attend my reserve PTI basic course at the earliest opportunity. Physical fitness has always been a great passion of mine and I wished to seek out the opportunity to train others and encourage them to maintain their own personal fitness in line with Army standards. When expressing my interest in attending this course I found the unit very supportive in helping me arrange my endurance training leader course, which is a pre requisite before booking on the PTI course. After completion of this I had no difficulty booking my self on the main course which was to take place at Fox lines, Aldershot.
The reserve PTI basic course was challenging but was also the most enjoyable course I have ever attended and I would highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in
physical fitness. As well as gaining a basic knowledge of anatomy and physiology I acquired useful skills in running a range of fitness classes designed for the needs of soldiers and the theory behind a warm up and cool down.
Since returning to my unit I have already had several opportunities to develop my instruction skills and would like to continue to take the opportunity to build on the qualification by attending the mountain leader course and the advanced PTI course at a later date. To this date I am very pleased with the opportunities that have been provided by the Army reserve and intend to continue to severe for a number of years.
Grant Downie
Community Mental Health Charge Nurse (Addictions)