Horsham Hospital staff given first-class break aboard converted bus run by airline crew

The Project Wingman mobile wellbeing lounge – a big blue bus known as Wellbee – welcomed hospital staff aboard between Monday, March 29, and Sunday, April 4.

The volunteers – who are all current or former aircrew – are all trained to communicate in stressful situations and their lounges provide a space for NHS staff to unwind and de-compress in a comfortable and relaxing area when taking a break at work.

Catherine Parris, a physiotherapist at Horsham Hospital, said: “The department staff and I appreciated their attention to others and we enjoyed an opportunity for a brief relaxation, chat and some coffee, cake and chocolate on their converted bus.”

Project Wingman was started at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic to enable furloughed, grounded or redundant UK airline personnel to show their support their local NHS.