Navy veteran making waves in the NHS marches with pride this Remembrance Day
A dedicated hospital member of staff is marching at the Cenotaph this Remembrance Day, which is her second year of doing so, something she’s incredibly proud of.
Paris Campbell-Martin, from Benfleet, is a Medical Secretary and part of the Medical Examiner service at the Trust, but years before that she spent three years in the Royal Navy.
She said: “I joined the Royal Navy in 1991, serving on HMS Brazen and joined the first Wrens to ever sail on the ship. There was even a TV documentary made about me and my colleagues, as we were the first group of women to go to sea and serve alongside men.
“I also served on HMS Manchester, travelling to many countries and taking part in lots of missions - including chasing off a Russian aircraft carrier in Greenland and stopping drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean.
“Looking back, I’ve had many jobs but what shaped me most were my years in the Royal Navy. As a veteran it’s incredibly important to me that we, as a Trust, are accredited as being Veteran Aware, which means we make sure veterans are recognised and receive compassionate and informed care.”
Dedicated military hospitals no longer exist and our veterans are treated at NHS hospitals where they have special status and get priority access to care for conditions related to their military service.
A vital part of being Veteran Aware is asking every patient: “Are you serving, or have you or any member of your immediate family ever serviced in the armed forces?”
Paris said: "I was immensely proud to serve in the Royal Navy and am proud to be working for the NHS now.”
She is currently Chairman of the Type 22 Association (a Type 22 is a frigate warship), a support group for shipmates to keep in touch. They have more than 3,500 members all over the world, and after taking 10 years to establish the Association to a level where they were accepted by the Royal British Legion to march, it’s in that capacity that she’ll be marching on Sunday.