Alan Finnegan

Alan Finnegan QARANC, is the senior military nurse at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM) within the University of Birmingham Hospital Trust.

Alan, an extremely proud member of the Birmingham Irish community, first joined the NHS in 1978, commencing his career at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham.  Having qualified as an RGN and RMN he nursed in Birmingham at the Accident, Dudley Road & Sandwell Hospitals, before Commissioning as an Army Nurse in 1987.  He has always worked in nursing related posts, including policy at MOD, and has been deployed operationally in Iraq, Northern Ireland, Kosovo and South Africa.  He was promoted to Lt Col in 2004 and was employed as the Defence Specialist Nursing Advisor (Mental Health) before moving to Birmingham.  He has been utilised as a reviewer for the Healthcare Commission, and is an Honorary Lecturer at Birmingham City University.  He is well published in the area of military mental health, and is registered for a PhD, due to complete in 2010.  In the past 4 years, Alan has chaired the Defence Nursing Forum to being a highly respected and well utilised support to the RCN.  This has included the publication of a vibrant newsletter and in 2008 the first RCN Defence Forum Conference.  Alan is well  known as an RCN activist, regularly providing contributions to support RCN activities including regular fringe events at RCN Congress