A FORMER army officer has been appointed as the new Assistant Director of People and Organisational Development at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust.

Ray Olive, who served in the British Army for 24 years, is delighted to have joined the team at the Trust.

As a former Warrant Officer, Ray will also support the work of the Trust’s Armed Forces Network.

Ray said: “Transitioning from the British Army after serving for 24 years, during a global pandemic, could be considered as a challenge!

“However, I was certain that UHMBT was a place that I wanted to work.

"The values of the Trust matched with my own and the strap line ‘A great place to be cared for, a great place to work’ really made me think that this was a place that I could ‘belong’ after my military service ended.”

Ray said the recruitment process was open and honest and it was observed that the leadership, organisational and transformational skills that he had gained from the military would be of significant benefit to the Trust.

“I had a lot of transferable skills that I could bring with me," he said.

The role that I had been doing for the military was very similar to the role for which I applied, with the opportunity to support transformational change.

“The NHS is a place that many service leavers will not consider when leaving the military and I implore them to reconsider. The NHS has a wide variety of roles on offer, after all, hospitals are like small cities and require many different services to make them function.

“The skills that people develop in the military will set them in good stead when applying with the NHS. Veterans add a new dynamic to teams and bring a unique skill set with them too.”

Ray feels he has made the right career decision and is full of praise for the People and OD team: “I cannot speak highly enough about the whole team that I have come into contact with during both my recruitment and my first days in post at UHMBT.

“Is it going to be a challenge working with the NHS? Yes it is, but being a veteran, we love a challenge and know how to apply ourselves in any given situation.”

Gillian Day, Inclusion and Diversity Advisor and Forces Network Chair for UHMBT, said: “As one of the early adopters of the Step into Health programme to pledge our support when it was rolled out in 2017, UHMBT is very much committed to supporting members of the Armed Forces community making the transition from military life to a career in the NHS.

“The wealth of experience and knowledge that Ray brings with him is real asset to the organisation and the network looks forward to working with him to support the many veterans we have working with us and future colleagues who choose to make the Step into Health.”

Prof Mike Thomas, Chairman of the Trust, is the Armed Forces Network’s Executive Sponsor.