Honouring military service: Armed Forces Day 2025
To mark Armed Forces Day 2025, NHS 24 is proud to share the stories of colleagues who have served in the Armed Forces and now continue their commitment to public service within the NHS. Discover more about the skills and experiences veterans bring to our organisation and how their military backgrounds have helped to enhance patient care in Scotland.
Jonathan Halligan
After 24 years in the British Army, including deployments to Macedonia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Iraq, Canada and Sierra Leone, Jonathan joined NHS 24 in 2019. Now a Senior Nurse for Practice Education, he reflects on the transition:
“Although I was in the army for a large part of my life, I found it to be a smooth transition to working in the NHS. As I have always been in a clinical role, working in a ward, emergency department, theatre or intensive care unit is a natural environment for me”.
Jonathan’s military background as a Trauma Orthopaedic and Practice Education Nurse within the army gave him the adaptability and calm under pressure that now help him train the next generation of NHS 24 staff:
“The skills you gain in the military; adaptability, flexibility, staying level-headed, are incredibly transferrable to healthcare.
“My proudest NHS moments have been managing to work continuously through the Covid pandemic and being part of a team that has trained countless numbers of Call Handlers, Clinical Supervisors, Mental Health Nurse Practitioners, Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners and Pharmacists.”
Simon Tyas
After 25 years as an RAF Air Traffic Controller, Simon joined NHS 24 in 2014 as a Call Handler. He has found there to be many skills overlaps between his military and civilian role:
“I lived under the flight path to Heathrow when I was a child, and it was this that triggered my love of aircraft. I joined the Royal Air Force at the age of 25.
“Being an Air Traffic Controller meant I was very used to receiving information thick and fast, and this has helped me to help patients when they are stressed, as well as support colleagues after difficult calls.”
Simon’s family inspired his move into the NHS after his military career.
He adds:
“My family are all very NHS orientated. My wife was a staff nurse for 35 years; my eldest daughter a staff nurse at Great Ormond Street; my middle daughter is a midwife, and my youngest daughter is a Junior Doctor training to be an anaesthetist. Therefore, working for the NHS after my military career was the obvious choice!”
Tom Barry
Joining the Royal Army Medical Corps at 17, Tom served in the UK, West Germany, Northern Ireland, Canada, St Kilda and during the first Gulf War. He began working for NHS 24 as a Senior Charge Nurse in 2002. Officially retired, Tom still works shifts for NHS 24 as a Clinical Supervisor. He said:
“I joined the Army because I wanted to do something different and exciting. NHS 24 felt like a natural next step. The organisation was brand new in 2002, dynamic, and a great fit for my skills”.
Tom credits his military background for his resilience:
“I feel that my army service has given me self-discipline, a good work ethic, and the ability to work with people from a variety of backgrounds. And I was surprised, but pleased to find, that the sense of humour in the NHS isn’t vastly different from the military!”
Tom has however, found some military skills to be less transferrable into the civilian workspace:
“I’m qualified to drive tanks, have jumped out of a plane, and I’m a certified open water diver, though I perhaps don’t get to use these skills as much as I used to.“
Arlene Campbell is NHS 24’s Armed Forces and Veterans Champion. She said:
“NHS 24 is proud to work in partnership with military and veteran organisations, and I wish to take this opportunity to say happy Armed Forces Day to anyone marking the day.
“This past year has been momentous for NHS 24 in strengthening our engagement with the Armed Forces community. We became a proud signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant – a national promise to ensure that those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces, and their families, are treated fairly – and were also honoured to receive the Employer Recognition Scheme Bronze Award. Both of these awards help to recognise NHS 24’s commitment to supporting veterans, reservists, and military families both in the workplace as well as wider society.”
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