WORKING in A&E would be stressful enough for most people but one nurse at Warrington Hospital is combining his job with being in the Navy.

Alex McEnaney’s double life sees him working as an A&E charge nurse at Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust alongside serving in the Royal Navy Reserve.

Reservists work for a minimum of 24 days a year using experience from their day-to-day jobs whilst picking up new skills.

The 28-year-old, who joined the trust in January, said: “I first joined the Reserves in 2010 as a warfare seaman where I was involved on the weapons side of the ship’s protection.

“People I met in the Reserves who were nurses were one of the reasons that I became a nurse – they talked me into it and showed me the advantages of being a male nurse.

“I then used it as a part-time job as I went through my nurses training.

“I’ve always been open and honest about it and it’s one of the reasons I got my job here with a promotion into leadership because of the management opportunities I got through the Navy.

“The two collided to benefit me and I hope it’s something that will always be with me because it’s always benefitted my civilian side and my Navy side.”

Alex is one of only four naval reservist nurses based in the north west.

He added: “There are quite a lot of reservists and you don’t really hear about it although the Navy side is a lot smaller.

“I love it and it’s like a break away from life to be honest.

“There are stresses within the NHS and it’s an opportunity to go and do something completely different, and to gain another skill set.

“It’s just a way to break the monotony of being an A&E nurse.”

Alex has appeared in a recruitment video for the Royal Navy, filmed in Cyprus while he was providing first aid training for the 95 Maritime Reserves.

He said: “Telling people who the reservists are, what they do in their civilian job, what they do in their Navy job and how the two meet is a big push for the Reserves at the moment.

“The video was made out in Cyprus when we were providing medical cover to an exercise.

“It was an opportunity for the guys to learn about working in the heat and the sort of environment that they would be in.”