Armed Forces Covenant: Meet Sam!

Meet Sam!

To mark one week since we announced our signing of the Armed Forces Covenant, we caught up with Sam. Alongside his position at Sheffield Children’s as an Improvement Programme Manager in our Service Improvement team, Sam is also a reservist in the British Army, serving as a clarinet player as part of The Band of the Corps of Royal Engineers. Sheffield Children’s is proud to have recently signed the Armed Forces Covenant and will continue to support armed forces reservists like Sam.

Sam has played the clarinet since he was six years old and has been able to combine his passion for music with his drive to serve as part of our Armed Forces. Sam said: “When I was younger, I always thought that being a part of the Armed Forces would be an interesting career. When I graduated from University, I decided that I would pursue a career in the NHS, but I still wanted to experience life in the Armed Forces so being in an army band was a perfect fit.”

As part of his Armed Forces role, Sam has performed some high-profile engagements such as playing at the famous last post ceremony at the Menin gate in Belgium, performing in front of the late Queen Elizabeth II during her Diamond Jubilee tour, and in 2023 the band played for a remembrance parade at the national cenotaph in central London.

Sam said: “I get a lot of opportunities as part of the Armed Forces and it’s great that Sheffield Children’s support me in being able to pursue them. My band are able to do a lot of foreign travel which is exciting! I’ve been to Gibraltar, the Falkland Islands, Cyprus, Germany, Northern Ireland, and more whilst performing in concerts and parades.”

After having joined the army in the same week as he joined the NHS over 12 years ago, Sam has found that there are many skills that he has been able to use in both roles. Sam said: “I have learnt a lot about leadership and team dynamics as part of the Armed Forces which I have been able to bring into my civilian career at Sheffield Children’s. Equally, the Armed Forces value the professional skills and approach I bring from my role in the NHS. I lead on public communications for the band because of my experience communicating around healthcare projects.”

At Sheffield Children’s, Sam is the lead for outpatient improvement. Sam said: “Our Service Improvement team provides support for teams and departments across the Trust. We help teams think about how they work, their processes, and all aspects of quality to help improve patient care. As a team we also deliver larger projects aligned to the Trust strategy and run training in quality improvement and project management.”

The signing of the Armed Forces Covenant marks a statement of intent to increase awareness across our Sheffield Children’s community of the unique nature of military service, improving awareness of resources available for members of the Armed Forces community across our Trust, and making sure that our members of staff with an Armed Forces status are represented in discussions which affect them.

As a reservist, Sam is encouraged by the steps being taken at Sheffield Children’s to make sure that our Armed Forces community feel supported. Sam said: “it makes me feel valued! I feel really encouraged by the actions of the Trust”

We’d like to thank Sam for taking the time to speak with us and can’t wait to hear all about where he travels next!

You can also learn more about our commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant on our website.