Royal Navy Medical Service Explained

Unit Name:	Royal Navy Medical Service
Dates:	1832 – present (Current Structure Adopted in 1917)
Country:	United Kingdom
Branch:	Royal Navy
Role:	Medicine
Website:	Royal Navy Medical Service
Commander1:	Commodore Alison Hofman RRC KHNS
Commander1 Label:	Medical Director General (Naval)
Identification Symbol Label:	White Ensign (1801–present)
Identification Symbol 2 Label:	Naval jack
Identification Symbol 3 Label:	Red Cross emblem
Ceremonial Chief:	The Queen
Ceremonial Chief Label:	Commodore-in-Chief

The Royal Navy Medical Service (RNMS), also termed the Royal Naval Medical Service and branded as Navy Healthcare,^[1] is the branch of the Royal Navy responsible for providing 'comprehensive healthcare to ships, submarines and Royal Marine personnel at sea and on land'. It includes within its remit of responsibility Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service.

The Head of the Royal Navy Medical Service is currently (as of 2024) styled 'Head of Navy Healthcare', and the present incumbent is Commodore Alison Hofman.^[2]

History

The history of the service can be traced back to 1692 when treatment for sick and wounded naval personnel was administered by the Commissioners of the Sick and Hurt Board (a subsidiary body of the Navy Board) until 1806, when medical officers of the Royal Navy had been under the direction of the Transport Board. In 1817 the Transport Board was merged with the Navy Board, and responsibility for medical officers passed to the Victualling Board.

In 1832 the Navy Board and the Victualling Board were both abolished (following recommendations by the First Lord of the Admiralty, Sir James Graham). At the same time, Sir William Burnett (who had served as one of the medical commissioners on the Victualling Board since 1822)^[3] was appointed Physician-General of the Navy;^[4] as such he had charge of the navy medical department and reported directly to the Board of Admiralty.^[5] The title of his post was changed to Inspector-General of Naval Hospitals and Fleets in 1841, and was again changed in 1844 to Director-General of the Medical Department of the Navy. In 1917 following further re-structuring within the Admiralty Department it became known as the Royal Navy Medical Service headed by Medical Director General of the Navy, also known as the Medical Director General (Naval) (which was the official title by the start of the 21st century).

The Medical Department of the Navy was initially, like its predecessor the Sick and Hurt Board, based in Somerset House.^[6] In the 1860s, along with the other Civil Departments of the Admiralty, it was removed from Somerset House to Spring Gardens (where the Admiralty Extension now stands);^[7] in 1879 the offices of the director-general were located at 9 New Street, Spring Gardens, London. The director-general was at this time under the direction of the Junior Naval Lord.^[8]

In the early 1960s, with the establishment of the Ministry of Defence in place of the Admiralty, the Medical Director General and his staff moved into the Empress State Building. In December 1984 he moved, with a reduced staff, into a new combined Defence Medical Services central headquarters building in First Avenue House, High Holborn,^[9] which had been established with a view to bringing together the three medical services under a single administrative head (the Surgeon General); (albeit, in spite of expectations to the contrary, the RN Medical Service and its Army/RAF counterparts maintained their autonomy). In 1993 the office of the Medical Director General moved to Victory Building in HMNB Portsmouth as part of the relocation of the Second Sea Lord and various directorates from London to Portsmouth.^[10]

Current structure

The medical branch today is made up of Medical Officers (physicians and surgeons) and Medical Assistants (non-commissioned officers and ratings, who receive similar training to paramedics); nursing services are provided by QARNNS. In 2012, 1,522 personnel were employed by the service.^[11]

Dental services are provided by the Royal Naval Dental Service, which since 1996 has formed part of a tri-service organisation (Defence Dental Services).

Medical Assistants

See main article: Medical Assistant (Royal Navy). Medical Assistants are deployed on all major warships and submarines of the Royal Navy, and provide primary care to the crew. They also have the role of training the crew in first aid.^[12] Capital ships often carry non-commissioned medical technicians as part of the larger medical department, who perform laboratory work to aid the medical assistants and officers.^[13]

Medical Assistants both male and female provide medical close support and shore side medical care to all Units of 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines.

All medical assistants are ranked in the same manner as other ratings.

Medical Officers

Medical Officers may be embarked temporarily on smaller vessels when on a long operational tour,^[14] but the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers have medical departments permanently staffed by one or two medical officers. Medical officers are ranked in the same manner as other officers, but wear red stripes between the gold on their epaulettes, and have the title 'Surgeon' added to their rank (Surgeon Lieutenant for example). All Medical Officers are required to be registered with the General Medical Council and to hold a current licence to practise.^[15] Although Royal Navy medical officers are qualified doctors, they do not use the Dr prefix, like those in other British military medical organisations.^[16]

Medical Services Officers

Medical Services Officers provide support in areas such as medical administration, training, logistics and planning, as well as in more specialised areas such as environmental health and radiological protection. They do not have to be registered medical practitioners.

Head of Royal Navy Medical Services

The Head of Navy Healthcare/Head of Royal Navy Medical Services continues to hold the appointment of Medical Director General (Naval).^[17]

In 2009 the title Chief Naval Medical Officer was introduced, to be held together with the title Medical Director General (Naval) (which was retained 'for liaison with outside authorities'). In 2015 the rank of the Medical Director General (Naval) was 'de-enriched' from Surgeon Rear Admiral to Surgeon Commodore;^[18] Surgeon Commodore Peter Buxton, who was at that time in the discrete post of Head of Royal Naval Medical Service and Assistant Chief of Staff Medical, was the following year promoted to Medical Director General (Naval), retaining in addition the designation Assistant Chief of Staff Medical.^[19] Subsequently the separate appointment of Head of Royal Naval Medical Service was merged with that of Assistant Chief of Staff Medical/Medical Director General (Naval). In 2022 the post of Assistant Chief of Staff Medical/Head of the Royal Naval Medical Service was eliminated in favour of the title Head of Navy Healthcare/Head of Royal Navy Medical Services.^[20]

As of 2024 the Head of Navy Healthcare/Head of Royal Navy Medical Services reports to the Director of People & Training and Naval Secretary.

Physician-General of the Navy

• 9 Jun 1832 – 24 January 1841: Sir William Burnett

Inspector-General of Naval Hospitals and Fleets

• 25 January 1841 – 31 December 1843: Sir William Burnett

Director-General of the Medical Department of the Navy

• 1 January 1844 – 29 April 1855: Sir William Burnett
• 30 April 1855 – 20 January 1864: Sir John Liddell
• 21 January 1864 – 14 April 1869: Dr Alexander Bryson
• 15 April 1869 – 31 January 1880: Inspector-General of Hospitals and Fleets Sir Alexander Armstrong
  • 1 February 1880 – 26 February 1888: Inspector-General of Hospitals and Fleets Sir John Watt Reid 27 February 1888 – 31 March 1898: Inspector-General of Hospitals and Fleets Sir James Nicholas Dick^[21]
• 1 April 1898 – 11 September 1904: Inspector-General of Hospitals and Fleets Sir Henry Frederick Norbury
• 12 September 1904 – 10 May 1908: Inspector-General of Hospitals and Fleets Sir Herbert Mackay Ellis
• 11 May 1908 – 10 May 1913: Surgeon-General Sir James Porter
• 11 May 1913 – 31 May 1917: Surgeon-General Sir Arthur William May

Medical Director-General of the Navy

• 1917–1919: Surgeon Vice Admiral Sir William Henry Norman, KCB, FRCSE
• 1919–1923: Surgeon Vice Admiral Sir Robert Hill, KCB, KCMG, CVO, KHS^[22]
• 1923–1927: Surgeon Vice Admiral Sir Joseph Chambers, KCB, CMG, KHP^[23]
• 1927–1931: Surgeon Vice Admiral Sir Arthur Gaskell, KCB, OBE, KHS, FRCS^[24]
• 1931–1934: Surgeon Vice Admiral Sir Reginald St George Smallridge Bond, KCB, KHP, FRCP, FRCSE
• 1934–1937: Surgeon Vice Admiral Sir Robert William Basil Hall, KCB, OBE, KHP^[25]
• 1937–1941: Surgeon Vice Admiral Sir Percival Thomas Nicholls, KCB, KPH, FRCS^[26]
• 1941–1945: Surgeon Vice Admiral Sir Sheldon Francis Dudley, KCB, OBE, FRS, KHP, FRCP
• 1945–1948: Surgeon Vice Admiral Sir Henry St Clair Colson, KCB, CBE, KHP, FRCP
• 1948–1951: Surgeon Vice Admiral Sir Clarence Edward Greeson, KBE, CB, KHP^[27]
• 1952–1956: Surgeon Vice Admiral Sir Kenneth Alexander Ingleby-Mackenzie, KBE, CB, QHP^[28]
• 1956–1960: Surgeon Vice Admiral Sir Robert Cyril May, KBE, CB, MC, QHS, FRCS^[29]
• 1960–1963: Surgeon Vice Admiral Sir William Robert Silvester Panckridge, KBE, CB, QHP^[30]
• 1963–1966: Surgeon Vice Admiral Sir Derek Duncombe Steele-Perkins, KCB, KCVO, QHS, FRCS, FRACS
• 1966–1969: Surgeon Vice Admiral Sir Eric Dick Caldwell, KBE, CB, QHP, FRCP, FRCPE^{[31] [32]}
• 1969–1972: Surgeon Vice Admiral Sir Eric Blackburn Bradbury, KBE, CB, QHP, FRCS^[33]
• 1972–1977: Surgeon Vice Admiral Sir James Watt, KBE, QHS, FRCS^[34]
• 1977–1980: Surgeon Vice Admiral Sir John Stuart Pepys Rawlins, KBE, FRCP, FRAeS^[35]
• 1980–1983: Surgeon Vice Admiral Sir John Albert Bews Harrison, KBE, QHP, FRCR^[36]

Medical Director-General (Naval)

• 1983–1984: Surgeon Vice Admiral Roger John William Lambert, QHP^[37]
• 1985–1990: Surgeon Vice Admiral Sir Godfrey James Milton-Thompson, KBE, QHP, FRCP
• 1990–1993: Surgeon Rear Admiral David Askey Lammiman, CB, LVO, QHS, FFARCS^[38]
• 1993–1994: Surgeon Rear Admiral Anthony Leslie Revell, QHS
• 1994-1997: Surgeon Rear Admiral Alexander (Sandy) Craig QHP
• 1997–1999: Surgeon Rear Admiral Michael Patrick William Halden Paine, QHS, FRCS^[39]
• 1999–2002: Surgeon Rear Admiral Ian Lawrence Jenkins, CVO, QHS FRCS
• 2001–2003: Surgeon Rear Admiral Ralph Donaldson Curr, QHP, FRCGP
• 2003–2007: Surgeon Rear Admiral Michael Atholl Farquharson-Roberts, CBE, QHS, FRCS
• 2007–2009: Surgeon Rear Admiral Philip Iain Raffaelli, QHP^[40]
• 2009–2012: Surgeon Rear Admiral Lionel Jarvis, CBE, QHS (Chief Naval Medical Officer/Medical Director General (Naval))^[41]
• 2012–2015: Surgeon Rear Admiral Calum James Gibb McArthur, QHP FRCGP (Chief Naval Medical Officer/Medical Director General (Naval))^[42]
• 2015–2016: Surgeon Rear Admiral Alasdair James Walker, OBE, QHS, FRCS (Chief Naval Medical Officer/Medical Director General (Naval))^[43]
• 2016–2017: Surgeon-Commodore Peter Buxton, OBE, QHP, FRCR (Assistant Chief of Staff Medical and Medical Director General (Naval))
• 2017–2021: Commodore Inga Jane Kennedy, CBE, VR, QHNS (Assistant Chief of Staff Medical, Head of the Royal Navy Medical Service and Medical Director General (Naval))
• 2021–2023 Surgeon Commodore Fleur T. Marshall, KHP (Head of the Royal Navy Medical Service and Medical Director General (Naval))^[44]
• 2023-Present: Commodore Alison Hofman RRC KHNS QARNNS (Head of Navy Healthcare and Head of the Royal Navy Medical Service)^[45]

Commodore-in-chief

On 8 August 2006 Queen Elizabeth II appointed members of the Royal Family to serve as Royal Patrons, styled Commodores-in-chief, of various Royal Navy Commands, 'in recognition of the strong links between the Royal Navy and the Royal Family'.^[46] HRH the Duchess of Cornwall was appointed Commodore-in-Chief, Naval Medical Services at that time and has continued in the role as Queen.

See also

• Army Medical Services
• RAF Medical Services
• William Job Maillard VC
• Kate Nesbitt MC
• Surgeon Vice Admiral Ian Jenkins
• Surgeon Captain Rick Jolly
• Physician
• Military medicine

External links

• Website of the Royal Navy Medical Service
• Ministry of Defence - Royal Navy Medical Services (RNMS)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Defence Medical Services . GOV.UK . UK Government . 14 August 2024 .
2. Web site: Navy Command Senior Personnel . Armed Forces Review . MOD . 16 August 2024 . May 2024.
3. Book: Reports from Commissioners (7): Naval and Military Promotion . 1840 . House of Commons . London . 185-191.
4. Book: Dod . Charles R. . The Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage, of Britain and Ireland . 1848 . Whittaker and Co. . London . 116.
5. Book: McLean . David . Public Health and Politics in the Age of Reform: Cholera, the State and the Royal Navy in Victorian Britain . 2006 . I. B. Tauris . London . 59.
6. Book: Hamilton . Admiral Sir R. Vesey . Naval Administration . 1896 . George Bell and Sons . London . 22-25.
7. Book: Gater . G. H. . Hiorns . F. R. . Survey of London: Volume 20, St Martin-in-The-Fields, Pt III: Trafalgar Square and Neighbourhood . 1940 . London County Council . London . 58-65 . British History Online . 16 August 2024 . Spring Gardens.
8. Admiralty Administration.
9. Editorial . Journal of The Royal Naval Medical Service . 1985 . 71 . 2 . 69.
10. Book: Grant. E. J.. The Toothwrights' Tale: A History of Dentistry in the Royal Navy 1964–1995. 2013. Andrews UK Limited. 9781909183315. 9.
11. http://www.nhs.uk/Defencemedicine/Documents/Defence_Medical_Services_review%5B1%5D.pdf Defence Medical Services
12. Web site: Careers:medical assistant. Royal Navy. 25 August 2009.
13. Web site: HMS Ark Royal Medical Department . 14 February 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090826235619/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/operations-and-support/surface-fleet/aircraft-carriers/hms-ark-royal/ship-s-departments/medical-department. 26 August 2009 .
14. Web site: Medical Branch . Royal Navy . 25 August 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090806183837/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/training-and-people/rn-life/medical-branch/role-of-mdgn/ . 6 August 2009 . dead . dmy-all .
15. Web site: The Queen's Regulations for the Royal Navy (Version 6) . Royal Navy . The Defence Council . 15 August 2024 . 15-3 - 15-8 . 2017.
16. Web site: Medical officers output . Royal Navy . 25 August 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081114064452/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/upload/pdf/medical_officers_Output.pdf . 14 November 2008 . dead . dmy-all .
17. Web site: Court Circular . The Royal Family . 16 August 2024 . 26 January 2023.
18. Web site: Release of Information . Ministry of Defence . 16 August 2024.
19. Web site: Peter Buxton . Linkedin . 16 August 2024.
20. Web site: Navy Command senior, as of June 2021 . MOD . 16 August 2024.
21. Web site: Harley. Simon. Lovell. Tony. Medical Director-General (Royal Navy) - The Dreadnought Project. dreadnoughtproject.org. Harley and Lovell, 3 November 2015. 5 June 2017. en.
22. Book: Government. H.M.. The Navy List. 18 December 1922. H.M. Stationery Office. 1819. Admiralty.
23. Book: Government. H.M.. The Navy List. 18 June 1924. H.M. Stationery Office. 407. Admiralty.
24. Web site: England. Royal College of Surgeons of. Gaskell, Sir Arthur - Biographical entry - Plarr's Lives of the Fellows Online. livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk. RCG, 4 June 2014. 5 June 2017. en-gb.
25. Book: The Navy List. October 1935. H.M. Stationery Office. 417.
26. Book: The Navy List. 18 June 1937. H.M. Stationery Office. 418a.
27. Book: The Navy List. May 1951. H.M. Stationery Office. 329.
28. Book: The Navy List. April 1956. H.M. Stationery Office. 1244.
29. Book: The Navy List. January 1958. H.M. Stationery Office. 1231.
30. Book: The Navy List. February 1962. H.M. Stationery Office. 911.
31. Book: The Navy List. February 1968. H.M. Stationery Office. 531.
32. Book: Grant. E. J.. The Toothwrights' Tale: A History of Dentistry in the Royal Navy 1964–1995. 2013. Andrews UK Limited. 9781909183315. https://books.google.com/books?id=-cO1BAAAQBAJ&q=Surgeon+Vice+Admiral%2C+W.+R.+S.+Panckridge&pg=PT251. en. 3.
33. Book: The Navy List. February 1970. H.M. Stationery Office. 512.
34. Book: Grant. E. J.. The Toothwrights' Tale: A History of Dentistry in the Royal Navy 1964-1995. 2013. Andrews UK Limited. 9781909183315. https://books.google.com/books?id=-cO1BAAAQBAJ&q=Surgeon+Vice+Admiral%2C+W.+R.+S.+Panckridge&pg=PT251. en. 2.
35. Book: Grant. E. J.. The Toothwrights' Tale: A History of Dentistry in the Royal Navy 1964–1995). 2013. Andrews UK Limited. 9781909183315. https://books.google.com/books?id=-cO1BAAAQBAJ&q=Surgeon+Vice+Admiral%2C+W.+R.+S.+Panckridge&pg=PT251. en. 2.
36. Book: Grant. E. J.. The Toothwrights' Tale: A History of Dentistry in the Royal Navy 1964–1995. 2013. Andrews UK Limited. 9781909183315. https://books.google.com/books?id=-cO1BAAAQBAJ&q=Surgeon+Vice+Admiral%2C+W.+R.+S.+Panckridge&pg=PT1. en. 3.
37. News: Command Changes . Armed Forces . RUSI . July 1983.
38. News: Appointments . 16 August 2024 . Navy News . July 1990.
39. News: Appointments . 16 August 2024 . Navy News . February 1997.
40. News: Service appointments . 15 August 2024 . The Times . 22 January 2007.
41. News: Service appointments: Navy . 15 August 2024 . The Times . 20 November 2009.
42. News: Service appointment: Royal Navy . 15 August 2024 . The Times . 20 April 2012.
43. News: Navy and Army appointments . 15 August 2024 . The Times . 23 December 2014.
44. Web site: Old Reptonian and Repton Governor Fleur Marshall promoted to Royal Navy's most senior medical position. Repton College. 26 April 2021.
45. Web site: Chair of the Committee . Royal Navy Medical Club . 14 August 2024.
46. Web site: New Royal Navy patronages 2006 . The official website of the Royal Family . 14 August 2024.