Major General Phil Carter to become interim Chief Defence Medical

Interim appointment of UK Surgeon General will ensure continued delivery of Defence Medical operational work.

Air Marshal Clare Walton handing over the role of Chief Defence Medical to UK Surgeon General Major General Phil Carter. MOD Crown Copyright.

Major General Phil Carter, Surgeon General of the UK Armed Forces, will take on the role of interim Chief Defence Medical following the retirement of Air Marshal Clare Walton.

The appointment is on a temporary basis while a permanent Chief Defence Medical is selected. Major General Carter will continue as Surgeon General throughout his time as interim Chief Defence Medical, fulfilling both roles simultaneously.

As interim Chief Defence Medical, he will provide continuity of leadership as Defence Medical strives to meet the challenges set out in the Strategic Defence Review published last year. As it moves to a war fighting footing, and implements the investment set out in the Defence Investment Plan, Defence Medical will continue to support current operations and commitments.

Major General Phil Carter, Surgeon General and interim Chief Defence Medical, said:

Air Marshal Clare Walton leaves an exceptional legacy. Her leadership has helped place Defence Medical at the heart of Defence’s strategic conversation, steering Defence Medical through the aftermath of the COVID pandemic, providing medical support to Ukraine, through the Strategic Defence Review, Defence Reform and the work on the Defence Investment Plan. I want to add my thanks to her for her long service and dedication to patients and the Defence Medical Services.

It is an enormous privilege to lead the Defence Medical team even for a short period as the interim Chief and I know that we can and will rise to the challenges we are facing. Defence Medical is an astonishing team of teams. We are particularly adept at coming together in multidisciplinary teams to solve problems, it is in our DNA and it is how we have operated for decades.