David Thomas

Dave was commissioned into the QARANC as a nursing Officer in 2003.  Having briefly served for nine months in the Royal Green Jackets in the late 1980’s Dave trained to become a Registered Nurse. Qualifying as a Registered General Nurse in 1993.  Specialising in Trauma and Orthopaedics, he spent a fast-moving NHS career attaining clinical care seniority as a Matron for Surgical Services in 2002.

In 2003 Dave decided to rejoin military life, joining 243 (Wessex) Field Hospital Territorial Army unit where he has spent a significant amount of his reserve career.  Graduating through various NHS and Military courses, IOC, ICSC(LR), ACSC(R) and an MSc in healthcare management and leadership through Bath Spa University, he has maintained a consistent career through both his NHS and Army Medical Service pathways.  Continuing to pursue advancement in both sectors Dave eventually reached Chief Nurse in the NHS, working for Somerset NHS Foundation Trust until January 2026.  Militarily, Dave has served with multiple Field Hospitals/Multi-role Medical Regiment (MMR) in sub-unit command as OC Clinical Sqn and OC Nursing Sqn, finally taking command of 243 MMR in December 2023. Dave has just taken up post, in June 2026, as SO1 Recruitment with 2 Med Group. He deployed on Op Herrick 7 and Op Herrick 17, both times as the trauma Coordinator.

Dave is also a Professor and Director of International nursing affairs with the Data Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences and now works part time as Chief Nursing Officer with Pontemdata, a Danish based company pioneering virtual and interactive healthcare for nursing.

At home Dave is married with 2 grown up sons. He is a keen walker and enjoys cooking Indian inspired foods as often as possible.  Travelling is Dave’s passion and spends as much time as possible finding new places both in the UK and abroad.  Dave follows Rugby and is a keen fan of Llanelli Scarlets and the Welsh national team.