Page 24 - QARANC Vol 14 No 7 2013

22 QARANC THE GAZETTE
DMWS – The Military Community’s Medical Welfare Service
The Defence Medical Welfare Service (DMWS) has been providing welfare support to the Armed Forces for the last 70 years. For those that haven’t come across them, the DMWS is a military charity formed from the Joint War Organisation of the British Red Cross and the Order of St John in 1943. Originally known as the Service Hospitals Welfare Department, it changed its name to DMWS when it became an independent charity in 2001. Retaining the humanitarian ethos of both its parent charities, DMWS has continued to adapt to the changing requirements of the MOD.
Today its team of 44 Welfare Officers, based across 15 locations in the UK, Germany, Cyprus and Afghanistan, provide 24/7 365 days a year support to injured Armed Forces personnel and their families when they’re in hospital, rehabilitation or recovery centres . Working alongside QARANC personnel at the MDHU’s and in the field hospital in Afghanistan it remains the only welfare organisation to
deploy to areas of conflict in support of the Armed Forces.
Lorraine Pink,
Director of Business
Development at
DMWS and wife
of a serving soldier
says: “Deploying to
the frontline gives
us a unique insight
into the challenges and
dangers our troops face.
It also means we provide
welfare support right through
the care pathway from point-of-injury to recovery. For example an injured
soldier could be supported by our deployed team in Afghanistan then by our teams at RCDM in Birmingham
and DMRC Headley Court” One of the people supported by DMWS is former REME Soldier Simon Brown who was shot in the face by a sniper in Basra in 2006 which resulted in him losing his left eye and severely damaging his right. Placed in a drug induced coma he was flown back to the UK where he spent the next 17 days in a coma. During this time he was visited by DMWS Welfare Officers who spent
time at his bedside talking to him. Simon heard every word, despite the fact he was unconscious.
Simon says: “When I woke up in hospital it was not just me that was facing a worrying and uncertain future but my family too. Having someone there that could be an ear to bend or a shoulder to cry on, as well as someone in a uniform, gave me some comfort. They DMWS Welfare Officers let us air our fears without unnecessarily worrying those around us and helped me see past made-up fears by discussing them without patronisation. My family and I will always remain grateful for the support given by the DMWS in those dark days”
To find out more about DMWS and where they’re located visit their website www.dmws.org.uk
The type of support DMWS provides includes:
• Daily ward visits
• A “listening ear” service to patients, family and staff
• Liaising with Service Ships, Unit Welfare Staff & Medical Staff
• Help with accommodation for families visiting wounded, injured or sick
patients
• Provision of Welfare Flats
• Organising transport
• Accompanying families to critical care units
• Assistance and support in the event of death or bereavement
• Support of terminally ill patients and their families
• Provision of grab bags from “Troop Aid”
• Referrals and signposting to other agencies