Reaseheath College staff have been making a difference to the working lives of frontline NHS staff in the region.
Lecturers at the Nantwich college have designed and produced attachments which make surgical face-masks more comfortable to wear.
Andy Gould, curriculum area manager for construction, used his department’s 3D printer to make adjustable plastic clips which fit round the back of the head and have fixings for elastic loops of the face mask.
The design takes the pressure away from the back of the wearer’s ears while continuing to hold the mask securely.
Hundreds of the clips have been distributed across Cheshire, Staffordshire and Shropshire by Reaseheath staff who have family members or friends working on the frontline in the battle against COVID-19.
They are proving so popular there is a waiting list for more than 300 and the printer is operating non stop during the day and evening.
Staff at Leighton Hospital and the West Midlands Ambulance Service patient transport team in Crewe are among those who have benefited.
Cara Manfredi, a personal assistant to Reaseheath’s Principal and other senior managers, delivered clips to her twin sister Sian, a nurse on a COVID-19 positive ward at Leighton Hospital, and her partner, an ambulance care assistant.
She said: “The clips make a big difference to the comfort of the frontline staff and they are so grateful for our contribution.”
Andy, who is being supported by other staff members to keep the production line running, added: “We’ve been inundated with requests and we’re getting a lot of positive feedback.
“As long as the NHS staff want the clips, we’ll keep manufacturing them.”
Other staff have been using their craft skills to make ear savers, which perform a similar function but are for single patient use.
Quality and Standards coach Emily Jewell has been knitting 10cm long strips which have buttons sewn at each end to provide attachments for the face mask loops.
Since lockdown she has made over 60, the majority of which have gone to nurses in her local area of Shavington in answer to FaceBook appeals.
Emily, who has also made scrub bags out of reused duvets and pillow cases, said: “I understand the importance of the NHS after seeing the support given to our young people by NHS staff so I was delighted to help and do something positive in these challenging times.
“Making the ear pieces gave me something to do over Easter which had a purpose.
“I’ll be making more, particularly as my 10 year-old daughter wants to help and has now learnt to sew on buttons.”
Sally Beresford, course manager in agriculture, has been busy making headbands with button attachments and scrub bags from reused bed linen in answer to a request from her daughter-in-law, a nurse with North Staffordshire NHS Trust.
Sally said: “They’ve been really well received and it’s nice to feel you’ve made a difference, however small.”
(Images courtesy of Tim Jervis Professional Photography)
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