A former naval medic has rejoined the service to be able to offer her skills to help the country’s fight against Covid-19.

Jordan Holland, from the New Forest, spent eight years as a Royal Navy medical assistant (MA) before she left the service last year to pursue her dream of becoming a full-time artist.

But after the pandemic outbreak, the 29-year-old felt obliged to return to the role, which will see her assigned to the MoD’s Joint Hospital Group, which sees military personnel attached to NHS trusts around the country.

It feels good to be a part of it and as I was already a qualified Navy medic, that seemed the natural area for me to help in

She said: “It’s fantastic watching all services come together – the NHS, police forces, delivery personnel and shop workers – holding this all together.

“It feels good to be a part of it and as I was already a qualified Navy medic, that seemed the natural area for me to help in.”

MA Holland – who is half-British, half-American – joined the Royal Navy in 2011 from university in Tennessee.

She is the daughter of a British Airways pilot and her mother served in the US Air Force for 28 years.