Britain's NHS hospitals have started to introduce sleep pods for staff in need of a nap, but they have polarised opinion amongst staff and the public.

Sara Elkaysi filmed her sister and trainee pharmacist Tara Elkaysi relaxing in a sleep pod at Heatherwood Hospital in Ascot on the outskirts of London in the evening of Wednesday 27 September,

She was visiting her mother, who was there ahead of surgery, when she came across the dome-shaped chair in the patient waiting area, made by a company called MetroNaps.

It was comfortable but was not plugged in so she was unable to try out its more features, which include the ability to close over the top part of the user's body, vibrate and play soothing sounds.

Reports say the pods are there to encourage NHS workers to take naps during long shifts, to avoid medical near-misses at work and driving accidents afterwards.

She said: "Once I posted this video on Tiktok it quickly went viral and there was a lot of controversy around introducing the pods. Most comments were demanding that NHS workers get a higher pay rather than giving them pods to sleep in because of their long shifts. Some NHS staff commented sharing their own experiences at the hospitals they work in, some saying they would be reprimanded for sleeping during their shifts and that it was highly discouraged in most work places or an offence that would lead to dismissal. The comments were unhappy in the use of the funds by the government and recommended it should be used for other reasons like paying NHS staff or providing more for the patients such as more beds for the wards."

The NHS is not the only organisation to use them, with Samsung, Google and British Airways also trying them.

Reports say they were first trialled in the NHS in 2018 and the first site to have them was Royal Wolverhampton Hospital, which paid 17,000 pounds (20,600 US dollars) per pod.

My name is Tara Elkaysi, I am 23 years old and am a trainee pharmacist at an NHS trust in Slough. My sister who filmed me, Sara Elkaysi 28 years old is a lawyer and workers for the home office in Heathrow.

In this video, I was visiting my mother in Heatherwood hospital - Ascot on a Wednesday evening about 8pm prior to her surgery when my sister and I came across this dome shaped chair in the patient waiting area. We started researching it and found that these chairs are called 'sleep pods' and are from the company MetroNaps - an international company.

Using my iPhone X, I filmed the corridor where we sat, just outside the wards. This was a public area where anyone could enter. I was them filmed by my sister (using the same device) laying down on the leather pod, demonstrating its use, it was comfortable. The pod was not plugged in and there was no socket nearby so i was not able to show it's features. However i read up about it and it closes around the top part of the body, plays soothing music and has vibrations.

The chair has many buttons on the side that allow adjustments to the chair, changes to the volume and stop start functions. According to the articles published, the pods are there to encourage NHS workers to take naps during their long shifts to avoid near misses and accidents after work when driving home.

Once I posted this video on Tiktok it quickly went viral and there was a lot of controversy around introducing the pods. Most comments were demanding that NHS workers get a higher pay rather than giving them pods to sleep in because of their long shifts. Some NHS staff commented sharing their own experiences at the hospitals they work in, some saying they would be reprimanded for sleeping during their shifts and that it was highly discouraged in most work places or an offence that would lead to dismissal. The comments were unhappy in the use of the funds by the government and recommended it should be used for other reasons like paying NHS staff or providing more for the patients such as more beds for the wards.

Other companies have used these pods such as Samsung, Google and British Airways, this was introduced to the NHS in 2018 to be trialled. The first site to have them was Royal Wolverhampton hospital and they paid £17,000 per pod.

I have not shared this video with anyone else nor signed any agreements/ contracts.