NR staff ‘scrub up’ to help nurses
Network Rail staff are providing NHS nurses in Northamptonshire with homemade protective gowns.
Kettering General Hospital had reported a shortage in essential kit for its staff, so NR Infrastructure Maintenance Protection Co-ordinator David Rose and his partner Lynn Wilson used their time at home during the COVID19 outbreak to produce the gowns (known as scrubs) using her new sewing machine.
However, the couple were unsure how to print the large A0 pattern the gowns need, so Rose used an internal message board to ask for the help of NR colleagues.
“It became clear that our printers at The Quadrant in Milton Keynes were equipped for supersize printing. The next challenge was how to get the print-outs to us in Kettering,” he said.
NR Discipline Manager Mark Allen saw the post: “I live in
Milton Keynes and had plans to check on my in-laws in the Kettering area, so I was more than happy to pop into The Quadrant and do the printing. It was something we had the resources for already - it just made sense.”
Allen delivered the pattern the following day, which happened to be the couple’s 16th anniversary. “It was heart-warming to see them putting this first,” he added.
Wilson is now producing scrubs and storage bags to NHS standards. She said: “The gowns I’m producing are part of the nationwide effort by sewing groups called For the Love of Scrubs.
“Having the proper-size pattern has been a huge help - before that I was trying to stick 72 sheets of paper together to create the size I needed, which was quite tricky. This means I can get on with sewing and get these vital supplies to our fantastic NHS staff.”