THE chief executive of Salisbury NHS Foundation has been appointed an Honorary Colonel by the Queen.

Cara Charles-Barks is the Honorary Colonel for 243 (the Wessex) Field Hospital, part of the Army Reserve Medical Services.

More than183 healthcare professionals from all clinical specialities and grades, from across the South West and Hampshire, make up the unit and deliver vital medical support, wherever in the world where the British Army is deployed and under any conditions.

Mrs Charles-Barks said: "Staff at Salisbury hospital serve in the Army Reserve Medical Services, so this is a great honour for me and recognition of Salisbury hospital’s long-standing commitment to the military.

"I am looking forward to commencing my duties by attending to the Clinical Training Camp in Weymouth, on 15 and 16 June 2019."