This Is The Amazing Way Flight Attendants Are Helping The NHS During Covid-19

From ELLE

With travel now severely disrupted and, in some areas of the world, at a complete halt, the NHS is now calling on flight attendants to work as medical responders to help fight the coronavirus pandemic.

The NHS have announced on their website that the organisation is enlisting easyJet and Virgin Atlantic staff.

The statement continued, explaining that easyJet has written to all 9,000 of its UK-based staff, including 4,000 cabin crew who are trained in CPR. Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic is planning to write to approximately 4,000 of their employees that have the required skills and training.

‘Those who sign up will perform support roles, under the close instruction of nurses and senior clinicians on the wards at the NHS Nightingale Hospitals across the country,’ the NHS explains.

New hospitals across the UK are being built in cities such as London, Birmingham and Manchester to cope with the increasing number of coronavirus cases. The ExCeL conference centre in East London has recently been transformed into a 500-bed hospital.

Support workers will be working alongside experienced clinicians, the NHS states, changing beds, performing other non-clinical tasks and helping care givers working on the wards.

Ruth May, chief nursing officer for England, says: ‘Thousands of nurses, medics and other expert staff are returning to work alongside us, but we need everyone to do their bit – whether that is working in one of our current health or social care services, working in the Nightingale Hospital, volunteering to help the NHS or following government advice to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.’

Many airline staff are first aid trained or hold other clinical qualifications, as well as being security cleared.

According to Virgin Atlantic’s website announcing the news, the organisation’s flight crew is trained to use equipment such as telemedicine, defibrillators and advanced airways, ‘and also to lead medical emergencies with the assertiveness required of a medical professional in an emergency department’, adds Linda Porter, senior manager of operations medicine.

Staff and volunteers working at the newly-built hospitals will be offered free accommodation and breakfast, lunch or dinner depending on their shifts.

NHS clinicians are expected to oversee flight attendants’ work, which involve them training new recruits when they sign up.

‘The NHS is at the forefront of dealing with this health emergency but the training and skills our cabin crew have, working closely with the medical professionals, could help make a real difference,’ says Tina Milton, Director of Cabin Services for easyJet.

In addition, Corneel Koster, chief customer officer at Virgin Atlantic, added: ‘We are very grateful to the NHS for everything they are doing in extremely challenging circumstances and we’re committed to doing all we can to support the national effort against the rapid acceleration of Covid-19.’

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