YOU AND THE RAF RECOVERY ROAD by Sqn Ldr Steve Hamilton
There have been a number of developments in the support of the wounded, injured or sick personnel over the last two years and new and innovative initiatives are opening up all the time. Here Sqn Ldr Steve Hamilton of the RAF Personnel Recovery Unit gives an update.
T
he MoD and charitable supporters have financed new facilities and evolved new practices to assist in support of
our most vulnerable personnel and their families. Te RAF Personnel Recovery Unit (PRU) was officially formed in Jun 13 and is made up of ten military personnel and one civilian contractor.
Their aim is to provide an enhanced welfare and transition package for personnel assigned to the PRU or wounded, injured or sick (WIS) personnel in the wider RAF and to maximise the benefit of the available Defence Recovery facilities. The focus is providing the right support for the individual at the most appropriate time. There is no differentiation made between operational and non-operational conditions as we treat the problem and not the origins of the case.
The RAF PRU has a UK-wide remit and contact with the personnel it supports is maintained by either PRU staff travelling to the individual’s home or, if the service person is able to travel, they will visit the PRU at its base in RAF High Wycombe. Individuals assigned to the PRU are appointed to one of the four Personnel Recovery Officers who will provide them with individual support and coordinate their welfare requirements.
In addition to the four Personnel Recovery Officers, the PRU also has one corporal and a team of three SACs who provide another layer of welfare and administrative support. Significantly, their role is to assist RAF welfare teams on Stations to access defence recovery activities for WIS personnel across the Service who are not on the strength of the PRU. In this way the work of the PRU, although based at RAF High Wycombe, can be felt across the RAF.
Integrated within the PRU team are a squadron leader nurse and a sergeant RAF medic, who provide specialist medical advice to the PRU and track the care of long-term sick patients across the Service. Additionally, the PRU has the skills of a civilian specialist employment consultant, helping Service personnel who are medically discharged undergo work placements and find employment outside the RAF. Whilst the majority of personnel will be able to transition with the normal resettlement package, the specialist employment consultant provides help to Service leavers who want to work but have real barriers to employment.
Defence recovery activities are undertaken primarily by the four Personnel Recovery Centres, located at Edinburgh, Tidworth, Colchester and Catterick. These Recovery Centres are open to both serving and veteran WIS personnel and enable completion of transitional training and educational programmes. The activities are
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Envoy Winter 2013
www.raf-ff.org.uk
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