For the Love of Scrubs
23rd November 2020
Submitted by Danielle Kimberley, Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust
The Worcestershire offshoot of the national For the love of scrubs was created at the beginning of the pandemic as avid sewers wanted to give back to the NHS. They decided to step up so that they can support healthcare workers who were returning to their job roles and needed to gain access to some scrubs
What started with just a few ladies sewing for staff has turned into a community of over 1,000 sewers across Worcestershire, who gained the authorisation from both the Worcester Acute Hospitals Trust and the Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust to officially make scrubs for staff.
Throughout the pandemic, they made and distributed over 5,600 sets of scrubs across the nine hospitals, and over 20,000 additional items such as laundry bags, headbands and hearts to support staff. They also provided an impressive contribution to an initiative, designed to supply outpatients with fabric masks to help protect the Worcestershire community, and supplied 1,500+ to this cause.
Without their support, hard work and dedication, both the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals and the Worcestershire Health and Care Trusts would not have been able to bring staff back as efficiently and the Trusts would have had to pay for additional sets of scrubs and wash scrubs more frequently during Covid-19. By providing staff with laundry bags, they could put their dirty clothes somewhere safe and did not have to touch them again once they had finished their shifts, reducing the risks of transmission. Headbands and surgical hats protected staff's ears from the daily pain of surgical masks and face guards. And by donating fabric masks to be gifted to outpatients, the team has helped protect the community.
The Worcestershire For the love of scrubs also had delivery drivers. Sue Foster wanted to help and support the community but couldn’t sew. So day in, day out, she distributed materials, picked up scrubs and delivered scrubs to hospitals across Worcester to get the much needed uniforms to staff.
To help cheer up children, the team donated over 100 scrubs in ‘children friendly’ prints. Staff were able to wear designs such as Dora the Explorer and Thomas the Tank Engine, which enabled them to bring a little cheer into the hospital wards.
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