Dedication and selflessness
Rudi, creator of the Nighting-Ale, began volunteering at the Nightingale Hospital in 2020. The hospital, part of Barts Health NHS Trust, was built to provide extra capacity for London’s NHS during the pandemic.
Rudi’s motivation was his girlfriend, who works as a doctor. He told us: “I wanted to get involved as close to the frontline as possible as a way to be supportive of her and to be able to relate to how she might need emotional support.” Working there, Rudi was amazed by the dedication and selflessness NHS staff apply to their work everyday.
Volunteering at the Nightingale
“I started out as a volunteer porter, but as we all know, the Nightingale was set up at record speeds to rise to the demands of the pandemic. So, I found myself climbing the ranks fairly quickly and ended up being one of the Duty Managers,” Rudi shared.
“Although we fortunately didn’t need to get to full capacity, it was still full-on and patient care was obviously priority. Working at NHS Nightingale was just fantastic. Everyone, from the cleaning teams to the Exec leads, were all fabulous to work with,” he added.
"Working at the NHS Nightingale was full-on, and patient care was obviously the priority."Rudi, owner of Watling St Beer
The Nighting-Ale
After he finished volunteering, Rudi remained inspired by his time at NHS Nightingale London. So, he decided to put his business to good use by creating a brand new ale – the Nighting-Ale. The beer commemorates Florence Nightingale’s 200th birthday in 2020. All proceeds will go towards our Emergency Covid-19 Appeal.
The beer is a vegan-friendly, American pale ale. £1 per can goes towards our Covid-19 Appeal, which funds research and support for NHS staff and patients. See more on the Watling Street website.
Thank you
We would like to thank Rudi for choosing to donate the beer’s profits to Barts Charity. The money raised will go a long way to support our local NHS.
