The RFU Injured Players Foundation (IPF) is pleased to welcome Charlotte Wright as its newest Welfare Officer. Charlotte will join the team in delivering support for our injured players who have sustained life-changing injuries while playing rugby union in England.

 On her appointment Charlotte commented: “I am so excited to be joining the IPF. The welfare officer role perfectly fitted my background and experience and I’m really looking forward to bringing those skills to the IPF and using them to support our members.

 “I can’t wait to work alongside Caroline (Searight), John (Burgess) and Karen (Neal) to ensure our players receive the optimum support for their recovery.”

Charlotte started her career in the British Army, serving in the Royal Military Police, including a deployment to Iraq. Her role gave her valuable experience supporting military personnel in demanding and high-pressure environments.  After leaving the Army to raise her twin daughters, she transitioned to a role in the NHS, providing bereavement support to families and friends of those who had died.

“It was such a rewarding job,” Charlotte continued. “I loved being able to offer support in those situations and providing such a vital and valuable role that really made a difference to people’s lives.”

After leaving her role in bereavement support, Charlotte moved into a welfare position supporting the Armed Forces community. She spent six years working in this area. For the first three years, she was with the Defence Medical Welfare Service (DMWS), which was embedded within NHS settings. She then joined the Armed Forces Community Health and Wellbeing Team at Dorset Healthcare, an NHS service, where she provided tailored support to serving personnel, veterans, and their families. 

“It was such a varied role, and I would provide support with anything from housing issues to finances and signposting for mental health treatment,” Charlotte said. “I would provide assistance for those in hospital, but also once they were discharged and I spent a lot of time focused on social isolation for some of our older veterans.”

Outside of work Charlotte is also completing a Psychology Degree with the Open University. One of her third-year modules is focused on Sport Psychology and Charlotte is already seeing how this will prove useful in her new job.

“My background is in providing welfare and I have worked extensively in this area for the last six plus years. I feel that my Psychology degree is really complementary to my background and this role and I’m already seeing how I can apply it in my work. 

“I can’t wait to work with the team and bring in all of my relevant experience to really make a difference to our injured players.”

Charlotte is based in Dorset and will be travelling extensively to complete her job.