Post shift debrief at NHS Nightingale Hospital London

A4 printed sheet showing a blank 'Post Shift Debrief (5-10 mins)' including a space for the date and questions: Are you OK? What went well? What did not go well? Key changes for the next shift and If anyone in the team is not feeling OK, please contact, of the type used at the NHS Nightingale Hospital London, 2020

At the end of each 12 hour shift, teams had a time to reflect on their experience as well as what could be improved for the next shift at NHS Nightingale Hospital London. Questions about how people were feeling were part of the staff support as people were with dealing with new coronavirus and with increasing numbers of people to look after, worries for their own and their loved ones’ health.

The NHS Nightingale Hospital at the ExCel Centre in London was the first of seven Nightingale hospitals to be opened. 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 COVID-19. Drawing on the expertise of creating military field hospitals, NHS Nightingale London, the size of ten football pitches, was fitted out in just nine days. 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.

Only a small proportion of beds were ever used as NHS Trusts could not release staff. Existing 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.