Emma Henderson found herself setting up a charity to support NHS staff during Covid
13th November 2020
Submitted by Karen Bush, Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
For many, being furloughed during the Covid crisis was a time of uncertainty and negativity. Not for Emma. She saw it as an opportunity to establish a charity that allowed furloughed air crews to volunteer and who went on to give support and first class treatment to NHS staff in over 78 Hospitals nationwide.
As the crews, from pilots and first officers to cabin crews, are all trained in Human Factors, they are best placed to provide care and support to staff who have been working in the most horrendous and stressful situations. At this difficult time, their support has, for many NHS staff, been a lifeline and the many testimonials on their website are evidence of this. Medical staff needed to talk about their role with people who could empathise with the pressures involved.
As fellow uniformed professionals, they all understood what it is like to operate in a highly disciplined, regulated and pressured environment and this went a long way in bonding and sharing experience and empathy. Their positivity and kindness made such an amazing difference to the experiences of staff on the front line and we cannot thank either Emma or the crews enough. They are all amazing.
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