FROM CABIN

The inspiring story of how BA flight attendant Paul Harman, and many thousands of airline colleagues, left globetrotting jobs to help support hospital staff during the pandemic

OR 35 years, Paul Harman lived the high life, flying around the world as a senior member of the British Airways cabin crew. So he was devastated to be grounded when the pandemic struck. However, when an opportunity arose to put his people skills to good use, helping frontline medical staff unwind during their breaks, Paul jumped at the chance to do his bit for the nation.

While on furlough from BA, he signed up as a volunteer for Project Wingman and was lucky enough to work at the country’s pioneering first-class “Wingman” lounge run by furloughed pilots and aircrew at the Whittington Hospital in north London.

Listening to the stories of hard-pressed staff as he served them cups of tea and buns, Paul found himself in awe of the dedication of NHS workers. And now at the age of 55, he has switched careers for good – leaving the airline to work full-time as a healthcare assistant in the same hospital.

“It’s been quite a dramatic career change and a very steep learning curve but I’ve absolutely got no regrets,” says Paul, shortly before starting another overnight 12-hour shift. “I lost a friend to Covid last year, so I’ve had some personal experience of this dreadful disease. Now I’m myself working with patients.

“I find myself really willing them to get better. I just feel so humbled looking after them because they are so considerate. I can’t put into the words the feelings I have.

“It’s such a privilege to be able to help the patients. They say ‘thank you’ for doing the littlest thing, even if it’s just bringing a plate of food. In just a little way I am helping, hoping I am making a bit of difference, and I do find it very rewarding.

“I obviously wear the PPE as well, so I have a much better understanding of what it’s like for the nurses who used to talk about it in theWingman lounge.”

AS A healthcare assistant, Paul can take patients’ temperatures and do other medical readings, but his main role is supporting nursing staff, fetching and carrying, and doing or saying anything he can to make the patients feel as comfortable as possible.

“I’ll do whatever I’m asked to do,” he says. “I look after patients’ personal care and wellbeing. I’ve always loved talking to passengers, so that really helps when you’re talking to patients.

“I feel all those social skills I’ve learned over the years as part of the aircrew on flights are being put to good use.

“Aircrew are trained to look for passengers who need a bit of support, or a kind word, so that has put me in good stead. I’m also a pretty good listener which helps.

“I started at the beginning of October. It was a kind of leap of faith but, honestly, I haven’t looked back.

“It’s hectic and I have no idea where the time goes, a 12-hour shift is over in a flash. I said to a friend the other day that doing the Paris flights was hectic because it was full on for 40 minutes, but on shifts here I’m busy

ON DUTY: Paul provides service with a smile behind the mask in the lounge all the time, which is good because I do like to be busy. I took redundancy last August, but I didn’t want to retire because I still feel I can work and learn new skills and I really like helping people. I’d done 35 years flying, 22 years long-haul, so I’ve seen an awful lot of the world.

“All airline crews have to have a knowledge of medicine and, through the job, we have developed a range of skills which could be put to use in helping the NHS.”

The Wingman lounge was set up in a sealed-off area of the café of the Whittington Hospital. Comfy, reclining chairs were brought in so staff could put their feet up, even if only for a few minutes. Project Wingman, whose name was inspired by the Tom Cruise film Top Gun, was the brainchild of easyJet pilot Emma Henderson and BA pilot David Fielding, who wanted to harness the skills of aircrew to help the NHS during the pandemic.

It was so successful at the Whittington that bespoke Wingman lounges were subsequently set up at 84 hospitals across the country, staffed by 5,500 airline industry volunteers.

Now plans are advanced to fund a Wingman Wheels bus with the ability to tour the country and provide support at hospitals where it is most needed. The mobile lounge will take the form of an adapted doubledecker bus and more than £20,000 of the £100,000 that is needed has already been raised to fit it out and send it into service.

Paul continues: “When I was furloughed, I looked at working at the Nightingale hospitals but when this came up it was the perfect solution for what I was looking for.

“I spent literally the whole of the summer in the lounge. It’s such a nice environment for NHS staff to chill out and relax. It didn’t take long for us to get on first name terms, which was great because we wanted everyone to feel comfortable.

“We all just bonded really well and I think they were grateful to have somewhere where they could just be themselves for a while. I’m quite nosey so I asked people what jobs they did at the hospital and found it really interesting.

“One day I spoke to someone who said they were a nursing associate, which was all new to me. I started making enquiries at the

‘All airline crews have a knowledge of medicine and a range of skills that could help the NHS’

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