HEROINE BEHIND DIY VISORS FOR NHS

DURING April, Caroline Hayes lost track of time. At some point late into the night, her fatigue would become so intense she could no longer process the work in front of her.

‘By then, it would be about 11pm. I was so tired I would fall asleep,’ she says.

The next day she’d be back at work around 7am, for another gruelling day pursuing her mission to make life safer for NHS colleagues on the front line.

It was at the end of March, as cases of Covid-19

started to soar, while the country faced a shortage of personal protective equipment ( PPE), that Caroline, left, an orthotist, whose role usually involves making leg braces, spotted a social media post about how to make visors for medical staff.

Caroline, 25, from Wrexham, North Wales, messaged her colleagues at the Artificial Limb and Appliance Centre in the town, suggesting they make visors for staff treating coronavirus patients.

She worked late into the

night and at weekends to source the raw materials and help make the visors, all on top of her day job. Her initiative may well have saved lives.

Staff at Wrexham Hospital are still mourning the tragic death of a theatre assistant who caught the virus in the line of duty and died in mid-April. ‘His passing spurred us on,’ she says.

Caroline, who lives with her partner Douglas Adderley, 26, who works in food manufacturing, adds: ‘I was getting by on only a few hours’ sleep. I was exhausted but I was happy to feel exhausted.’

‘When we took boxes of visors to the hospital, the reaction from the staff was amazing — they were all so grateful,’ says orthotic technician Lee Hayes, Caroline’s colleague who helped make the prototype.

‘There were times when I’d see staff walking around with a visor on and I would think “I made that” — it was a brilliant feeling,’ adds Caroline.

After making 4,000 visors, enough commercially sourced PPE became available and the orthotics team were able to put down their visor tools.

‘ I love the fact that I can contribute to make people’s lives better,’ says Caroline.