22 June 2021

This week Frimley Health is celebrating 25 years of military partnership with Joint Hospital Group (South East), the anniversary also coincides with Armed Forces Week. To celebrate this partnership and 25 years of working shoulder to shoulder with our military colleagues, we've spoken to a few of them about their military and civilian roles at Frimley Health.

Nnaemeka Okpala, Chief of Service  - Specialist Surgery

Lieutenant Colonel Nnaemeka Okpala has served in the army for 20 years and joined the Trust as an ENT consultant just after he qualified. Nnaemeka has since become the Trust’s chief of service for specialist surgery and has also been on military tours to Northern Ireland and Iraq. As part of his role he has cared for service personnel from across the South of England, Cyprus and Gibraltar as well as hundreds of civilian patients from the local community.

Nnaemeka said: “I have the best of both worlds. We get so many opportunities to go on military exercises but I’m never away for more than two weeks so I can carry out my ongoing clinics with ENT patients. I’m extremely proud of my military background and the role we play within Frimley Health. The military ethos runs throughout the hospital and I think we’ve helped Frimley Park become what it is today - a CQC rated outstanding hospital.”

Mark Lepine-Williams, Assistant Hotel Service Manager

After competing 24 years colour service in the Royal Army Medical Corps as a Combat Medical Technician, Mark decided it was time to leave the regular army and pursue another career. At the time Mark was posted as the Regimental Sergeant Major to the military unit at Frimley Park Hospital and applied for a full-time position at the Trust.

For the last five years, Mark has been based at Frimley Park Hospital working as Assistant Hotel Service Manager, operationally responsible for the management of porters, waste, security, car parks and helipads. He also serves within the Army reserve at 256(CoL) Fd Hosp in London and has been deployed on various exercises in both the UK and Germany.

Mark said: “The skills and lessons I learned in the military eased the transition to the civilian workplace and my new role has really helped to broaden my experience and management skills with the army reserve. It may not seem like it but both worlds actually go hand in hand, it’s all about boosting an individual’s potential.”

Geoff Irish – Senior Project Manager

Geoff Irish began his military career as an apprentice in the Merchant Navy. After attending the Royal Naval Engineering College as a British Aerospace sponsored undergraduate he joined Dartmouth for basic training at the start of a five year commission as an Instructor Lieutenant teaching electrical and control engineering. Twenty years on his journey back to civilian life began at London’s Royal Free Hospital as a freelance project engineer.

Geoff joined Frimley Health in 2015 as a senior project manager and works with his team on a range of infrastructure projects. He is currently leading one of the Trust’s environmental sustainability projects to bring a disused water bore hole back into service which will provide the majority of Wexham Park Hospital’s water supply requirements and save the Trust over 75% on supply emissions.

“The transition from military life to working and living as a civilian was surprisingly difficult. The culture is completely different. I had grown used to following orders without question and working in an environment full of ‘dockyard’ humour. The concept of instructions being questioned was alien to me but that has become a distant memory now. My military experience has had such a positive impact on my career, the organisational and leadership skills I learned have been particularly useful in managing infrastructure projects across the Trust.”

Captain O’Donnell

A nursing officer in Frimley Park Emergency Department, Nikki O’Donnell has served in the army for almost a decade and is currently on her second posting at the hospital. She initially came to the Trust in 2015 as a junior nurse before being commissioned then posting to DMRC Headley Court military hospital where she cared for service personnel with a range of needs, from amputees to those who suffered brain injuries.

A month before the pandemic struck, Nikki came back to the Acute Medical Unit at Frimley and has worked throughout the challenges of Covid in both A&E and acute care.

“While there are many similarities in terms of the demands on nurses, the tempo is very different between a specific military hospital and an acute hospital serving an entire community. The patients I cared for in the military setting were further down the rehabilitation route rather than a fast-paced emergency department where hundreds of daily patients are presenting with new symptoms and injuries. The experience has been invaluable and proven that the skills we learn are ultimately transferrable, whatever the setting the focus is on providing the best possible care regardless of who the patients are.”

When Nikki is not working she is most likely to be found on a rugby field, as she’s been a qualified referee for the past decade reffing women’s Six Nations and International rugby matches.