Wolverhampton University staff make scrubs for NHS frontline staff
Staff from Wolverhampton University are helping out with the national shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) by making scrubs for NHS frontline staff.
Fiona Griffiths, from Wolverhampton, a technical demonstrator in the fashion and textiles department in the Wolverhampton School of Art, spent her Easter break making 16 sets of scrubs for local NHS trust hospitals in Staffordshire.
Fiona specialises in pattern cutting and garment manufacture – and teamed up with Julie Pearce, a Wolverhampton School of Art graduate, to make the garments for the 'Scrubs for Stoke' initiative, which was initially organised by nursing staff and former nursing staff working for University Hospitals North Midlands NHS Trust's County and Royal Stoke hospitals.
Fiona said: “Julie put an appeal for funding on the White Room Art Studio Facebook page, which raised £400 and allowed us to buy the resources we needed to make the scrubs.
"What we had left, we donated directly to ‘Scrubs for Stoke’ to help them buy more resources.
“The pattern used, which was quite specific, was put online by the organisers and you could either print if off or draft sizes from a graded diagram. We were able to source fabric online which had a section specifically for scrubs fabric on their website.
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“Once completed we were asked to send our scrubs to various pick-up points across Staffordshire and I sent mine to Rugeley which is local to Julie. The initial idea began in London, but the project is now a huge, nationwide community initiative and I know there are similar groups working across the country, for example, Sewing for the NHS Shropshire.
“The ‘Scrubs for Stoke’ campaign is extremely well organised and I was happy to play a very small part to help the NHS and be another pair of helping hands. We would like to say a big thank you to everyone who made donations which allowed us to do our bit.”
Miceal Barden, dean of the Faculty of Arts, Business and Social Sciences at the university, added: “Fiona’s effort is one amazing example of how staff and students at the University are collectively helping to fight the ongoing challenges brought on by Covid-19.
"The generosity in relation to giving up their spare time to find ways of combatting the virus shows a real commitment to the community spirit both locally and nationally.”
For anyone wishing to support the campaign, either for Stoke or their local NHS Trust, there is advice and information on the ‘Scrubs for Stoke’ and ‘For the Love of Scrubs’ Facebook pages. Those who would like to help but are not confident in making a set of scrubs can make other items such as wash bags, headbands and scrubs/theatre caps.
Fiona is now making wash bags for Wolverhampton NHS Primary Care Trust.
