Combat Stress appoints new Director of Services

We are pleased to announce we have appointed Sonia Phythian as our new Director of Services.

Sonia qualified as a Registered General Nurse from the Chester School of Nursing and Midwifery and has worked in healthcare for 36 years. She joins Combat Stress having served for 30 years in the UK Armed Forces. She was an operational nurse for most of her military career, providing global medical support to Defence from point of injury to recovery. She led deployments in Asia, Iraq and Afghanistan, and served overseas as the Medical Advisor to the Administrator of the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus during the COVID pandemic. Most recently she held the appointment of Head of the Royal Air Force Medical Services.

She has an MSc in Management and Health Social Care, an MA in Defence Studies, and studied Security and Strategy for Global Leaders at the Royal College of Defence Studies. She holds an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Birmingham City University.

Passionate about helping all to reach their potential through education and recreation, she is a Non-Executive Director for a Scottish college, President of RAF Scuba, Honorary Vice-President of RAF Boxing Association, and a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Nurses. She is also an RAF Reserve and Trustee of The Veterans Charity.

As Director of Services at Combat Stress, she will lead the development and continuous improvement of the Service Delivery Model and hold accountability for meeting the requirements of the regulatory bodies in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.  The Director of Service will focus on the efficient delivery of our service, together with developing the veteran journey within our service delivery team and working with our partner NHS and military charity services.