Ex -Royal Marine tells how he forged a career as a physio after injury
A physiotherapist who started out with a career in the Royal Marines has broken the mould by using his previous military experience to make a difference in healthcare.
David Williams grew up wanting to be in the Armed Forces but his journey took an unexpected turn and he forged a new career as a physiotherapist. Determined not to let his previous experience go to waste, David has worked hard to improve support for ex-military patients and colleagues in his role as Chair of the Armed Forces Network here at UHDB and has seen the network go from strength to strength.
David said: "When I finished my A-levels I joined a building firm and trained as a plumber but I always wanted to be in the military. When I was 22 I joined the Royal Marines and I was there for 3 and a half years."
Unfortunately a serious training injury resulted in David being medically discharged and having to 'find a new job, new career and almost a new life.'
He said: "My experience in rehab was really interesting and I needed that time to find a new path. I spent a lot of time with physiotherapists and I was really interested in the work that they do, so I went to university to train as a Physio and I haven’t looked back since."
David joined the Trust in 2019 as a rotational physiotherapist and worked in areas including specialist medicine, healthcare of the elderly, and respiratory and musculoskeletal physiotherapy.
He said: "I wanted to give something back and enjoy working with patients in their recovery, like I was once helped."
Despite David embarking on a new career, his past military experience stayed with him and he wanted to incorporate that into his current work.
He said: "I've always had this desire to lead and serve a bigger purpose and that’s what really attracted me to the Royal Marines. I spent some time in a high-performance environment where I saw great leadership and great role models and that part of my life was cut really short really quickly. I tried to scratch that itch in different ways and that is how I came to be involved in the Armed Forces Network."
During a relaunch of the existing staff networks in 2019, an opportunity arose for David to take the lead on the Armed Forces network.
He said: "Initially we were focused on supporting staff such as reservists or veterans but that has grown and now we collaborate a lot with defence medical services and have combat medical technicians working in the Trust.
"We've implemented a guaranteed interview scheme for service leaders and we've also achieved ministry of defence employee recognition scheme gold status - which means that we are in the top 3 per cent of organisations within the country that are supporters and collaborators with defence."
The network also achieved Veteran Healthcare Governance Alliance status which champions a focus on veteran care.
David said: "It means that not only is UHDB the best place to work but it's also the best place to work if you are a veteran, a reservist or a spouse of someone who is in the military. I think that is really important and I am happy to see that the majority of NHS organisations are on the road to being more forces friendly which is really encouraging."
David, who is currently on a secondment at NHS Midlands as a Regional Clinical Leadership Fellow, recently became a governor at the Trust, which he said has given him the chance to see the bigger picture of healthcare systems, saying it has been like "looking under the bonnet at the engine."
He said: "I ride this wave of activity and interests and I love to get stuck in and involved. It's been a real privilege and a great way to share what I can offer through an AHP lens, it is about being able to support people where I can and being visible as an AHP. I am interested in technology and how I can make a difference on a much bigger scale so it is important to me that AHPs and therapist take up these roles. It has really helped me develop as a person and a leader, and I can use those skills within my workplace."