Hand painted rainbow picture

Hand painted rainbow and the word 'Daddy' made for Eamonn Sullivan, Director of Nursing at NHS Nightingale Hospital London with handprints from his children, made April 2020 and displayed in Eamonn Sullivan's office at NHS Nightingale Hospital April - May 2020

Like many other key workers, Eamonn Sullivan took the decision to live apart from his loved ones to minimise the risk of spreading COVID-19. His family produced this picture for him to have in his office as a reminder that he was never far from their thoughts.

Building and helping to run a hospital built in a venue more suited to conferences and trade shows was a hugely demanding job. Eamonn Sullivan was part of the small team that came together on a Sunday afternoon in late March 2020 to help plan the NHS Nightingale Hospital at the ExCel centre. In addition to his clinical and hospital roles, Eamonn is British Army Nursing Officer and has served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Building on his knowledge of military field hospitals alongside Colonel Ashleigh Boreham and colleagues from the National Health Service, they developed the plan for the hospital. In nine days, the hospital was built by over 160 contractors and 200 army engineers, ready for anyone who might need it. Extra beds were planned after concerns over the ability of the National Health Service to cope with high numbers of people requiring treatment during the first wave of coronavirus.

Opened virtually by Prince Charles on 3 April 2020, the hospital had capacity for 4000 beds in wards named after historic figures from British medical history. Eammon was Director of Nursing for the site and was also part of the Care Quality Commission for the other Nightingales. The NHS Nightingale Hospital at the ExCel Centre in London was the first of seven Nightingale hospitals to be opened. Staff were drawn from across NHS England and the armed services for their expertise including critical care, physiotherapy, mental health support for staff and volunteers, security, and Family Liaison and Support Teams. Volunteers from St John Ambulance and air crew from Virgin Atlantic and Easyjet helped with way finding and assisting staff.

Only a small proportion of beds were ever used as NHS Trusts could not release staff as many hospitals transformed spaces into critical care wards. The NHS Nightingale London Hospital closed on Nurses Day on 12 May 2020 with 700 people debriefed at the 02. In January 2021, it reopened to treat non-coronavirus patients after being on standby since May 2020. Between 11 January 2021 and 25 June 2021, it was a mass vaccination centre, delivering 130,000 jabs. For both uses it was overseen by Barts Health Trust. Described by the NHS as the “ultimate insurance policy”, some questioned the £500 million cost of building and maintaining the seven sites.