Project Wingman comes in to land at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust
Airline crews from companies such as British Airways, easyjet and Norwegian are volunteering at NHS Trusts around the country and they’re proving very popular. The volunteers, who form Project Wingman, come from a wide range of roles and are channelling their skills and experience dealing with people in a staff support role by hosting ‘First Class Lounges’.
Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust are lucky enough to have crews based at University Hospital Lewisham and Queen Elizabeth Hospital from this week.
Angela Helleur, Chief Nurse at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust said: “It’s amazing what a nice smile and a relaxed environment can do for anxiety and stress and we can’t thank the crews enough for using their own time to support our staff in this way. We’re doing everything we can to make sure emotional wellbeing is a priority for colleagues across the Trust and I would encourage staff to take a break in the lounge whenever they can.”
The initiative is the brainchild of Emma Henderson, an easyjet pilot, Captain Dave Fielding, a pilot for British Airways and Professor Rob Bor, a psychologist at the Royal Free hospital in London. Fielding, who usually flies an Airbus A380 to Singapore, and Henderson, whose usual routes include Europe and North Africa, run the peer support programme for pilots with their respective airlines, while Bor helps airlines look after their pilots’ mental health.
Gary Bristow, Customer Service Manager for British Airways and one of our Project Wingman leads said: “You might say the campaign has been a run(a)way success and we’re so pleased to be joining Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust. We are all used to creating a relaxing atmosphere, chatting to people from all walks of life who may even be stressed and anxious, and we hope people leave the lounge feeling more relaxed than when they came in. People working tirelessly in the NHS deserve some downtime and we’re glad to be putting our skills to good use.”
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Pictured crew from Project Wingman at University Hospital Lewisham with Dr Alex George