Page 5 - QARANC Vol 19 No 2 2021

President’s Foreword
Welcome to the Autumn edition of the Gazette. What another incredibly busy period it’s been. Your articles reflect your hard work and great imagination in the wide variety of activities you have been undertaking across units and Branches! As ever, I am deeply grateful for your incredible resilience, professionalism
for a long time. There have been many other sporting and Adventurous Training activities and this Gazette describes open water swimming championships and sailing off west Scotland.
As we continue to celebrate the 30th anniversary year of Healthcare
and positive attitudes. As
we have all begun on the
pathway of conducting our
lives with fewer restrictions
whilst still living and
working with COVID-19,
we have been able to do
a little more socially and professionally. Reserve
units started a gradual
return to face to face
training and regular units
changed focus to undertake
military training and decompression events. 22 Field Hospital hosted the first DMS staffed Ground Manoeuvre Surgical Group training since the 2 Medical Brigade Field Hospital Review which proposes the re-alignment of scalable medical capability. Branches have continued to be busy keeping in touch with members both serving and veterans. NI Branch has highlighted the experiences of the new arrival of one of their members; welcome baby Flanagan!
Whilst many have welcomed the lifting of restrictions, for some it presents challenges and increased anxiety. Many of us have found the past 18 months difficult and there are some great tips in the article about Kindness, tea and toast which I commend to you.
Our congratulations to the regular and reserve QARANC Lieutenant Colonels, Staff Sergeants, Sergeants and Corporals who have been selected for promotion in the last six months, and to those who have been recognised through awards in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List, Order of St John, Lord Lieutenant Awards and Divisional GOC commendations and the CNO(A) and QARANC Association Awards; you’ll find more detail towards the back of the Gazette.
In the last six months it was great to see so many serving and veteran colleagues at our annual symposium and the Church Service, and to meet so many regulars and reserves at the AMS Festival of Sports at Tidworth; the largest gathering of AMS personnel
history and this edition is no exception. It also marks the end of the editorship of Major (Retired) Alison Spires, who I am sure you will all agree, that under her steerage the Gazette has been informative, interesting with a real balance of articles under the new lay out. It takes hard work and artistic flair to produce such a compelling read and I take my hat off to her, as she has done so on her own without an editorial committee. Alison, my heartfelt thanks for such a professional Gazette and your dedication.
The Colonels Commandant and I look forward to seeing many more of you in the coming months and our next visits will be to the QARANC team
The Gazette QARANC Association 3
As ever, I am deeply grateful for your incredible resilience, professionalism and positive attitudes
Assistants, we feature two HCAs in this edition; Captain Lee Richens reflecting on his tenure as the first QA and first HCA to become the AMS Corps RSM and Corporal Gadd the first HCA posted as an Instructor to the Army Foundation College. Each are tough posts requiring exemplary leadership and both have flown the flag as ambassadors for HCAs and the wider QARANC.
Despite COVID-19, as a Corps we have had a strong presence at commemorative events including honouring Florence Nightingale at Westminster Abbey and East Wellow, and a Blue Plaque dedication to Anne Fletcher, a WW1 TFNS nurse. Reflecting on the ongoing pandemic challenges, there are insightful articles relating the global difficulties our forebears had a hundred years ago and comparisons you can draw from the more modern experiences in Sierra Leone and in the James Cook and Stoke hospitals.
We are expecting the announcement with the detail about how the Integrated
Review will impact on the
medical services to take
place in the autumn; it may
be announced prior to the
Gazette publication, but commemorative nothing so far as I write
competing for the Countess of Wessex Cup at RAF Wittering and to Leeds to meet with the Branch Chairs and Secretaries and the QARANC Reunion Lunch. Take care and keep safe.
In friendship,
Sub cruce candida
Colonel Alison Farmer ARRC QHN
Chief Nursing Officer (Army)
this. Once CGS has issued
his orders I will be given
the detail to start working
with our AMS colleagues to
ensure the best interests of
QARANC are maintained Westminster throughout. Elsewhere, Abbey our QARANC senior
management meetings
continue six monthly and we
have Working Groups set up which are reviewing opportunities and the career pathway for MH nurses, and another about CPD and Training for regular and reserve HCAs. There is a lot going on and it is a time of change which will bring many new opportunities.
Each Gazette reflects part of our
we have had a strong presence at
events including honouring Florence Nightingale at