Mansfield school staff helping to keep surgery staff safe by designing personal protection equipment

James Wilson, Jason Taylor and Jennifer Walker, employed in the Samworth Church Academy School’s department of design and technology, have been making PVC face visors for use in health care settings

James, who is head of department, and his colleagues, had heard the reports of nationwide shortages of personal protection equipment (PPE).

Organisations, which have either already received, or are about to receive their equipment, include Kings Mill Hospital, ICAT, Orchard Medical Centre, Mansfield, and the Matlock surgery. The Westdale Lane Surgery, at Gedling, has already received 20 visors.

Sarah Weston, a nurse at the Gedling practice, said: “They are fantastic. We want to thank the guys at Samworth Church Academy School, they kindly stepped forward to help make us visors for our personal protection at the GP practice.

“We are incredibly grateful, as staff, doctors and nurses, on the frontline everyday for the NHS, Jason, James and Jennifer are just amazing for what they have done for us, they have helped us at this very difficult time during our fight to end Covid19.”

James Wilson, said: “We’d heard about the shortage of PPE and lots of design and technology people all over the country started to try think how they could help solve the problem.

“We have the equipment as a tech department, so we looked at what was happening nationally and thought we’d have a go at adapting a design for the full face clear visors. It’s been going very well.

“The visors take about five minutes each, we have done probably about 60 or more. There are more in the pipeline and we are going to get some of our young people, the children of NHS staff and key workers, to help put them together, it’s nice for them to get involved.”

The techies are keen to source supplies of 0.5mm PVC and hope to encourage other school DT departments to get involved.

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