Joint venture produces hundreds of face protectors

HUNDREDS of f ace shields have been produced and distributed throughout Tayside thanks to a joint venture between NHS Tayside, Dundee University and engineering firm NCR.

The protectors are made using the same materials as used i n baby incubators, with a sillicone strap to make them non-allergic, easy to clean, adjustable and comfortable for users.

Almost 400 have been handed out already, with thousands more ready to be distributed to be used in the community.

Jean Ngoie, head of instrumentation and clinical engineering for NHS Tayside, said: “It has been a real community effort to make the shields and it would not have been possible without NCR. I am grateful for their help in sharing knowledge and material resources to build reusable f ace shields that are keeping our clinical colleagues safe during Covid-19.

“This came at a time when we weren’t sure how to get any extra supplies and NCR were so flexible and cooperative, working with Medical Physics and our University of Dundee colleagues to follow medical devices guidelines, which is not what they normally do in business.”

The work was initiated by the engineering team from the university and led by the NHS.

Andrew Dennison, biomedical engineering projects manager at the university, said: “This experience highlighted the very real need to develop readiness and local resilience, to be better able to respond to similar future emergencies. We’ll seek to develop this growing collaborative network to research manufacture pathways for PPE and medical devices.”