Safety Brief template

A4 printed sheet for a "Safety Brief Template" lasting 3-5 minutes including introductions from team members and a buddy system, key safety messages, what might stop people working at their best and any clinical handover information, of the type used at NHS Nightingale Hospital, London, May - April 2020

Keeping track of who is doing which role on a ward is vital in any hospital but especially at the NHS Nightingale Hospital London where teams were drawn from across the country and had not often worked together before. At the beginning of every shift teams would introduce themselves and their role at the Nightingale. Teams were reminded of Personal protective equipment guidance. Information about patients would also be verbally discussed as well as recorded in people’s notes. A buddy system was in place for people to help support each other. This type of handover is common in many hospital and healthcare settings.

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.