Image: Clinical staff from the Tower Hamlets Urgent Treatment Centre (l-r) Dr Gemma Eyres and Angela Saghegyi (Nurse) wearing the scrubs
GP surgeries and other health services within Tower Hamlets were delighted to receive more than 40 home-made pairs of clinical scrubs last week, a welcome boost in the fight to defeat the COVID19 pandemic.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for clinical scrubs, along with other PPE equipment, has been extremely high with fears that much-needed supplies and equipment might run low. GP surgeries, hubs and other community clinics and services need scrubs to ensure good infection control is maintained.
Following a call to service, Ashleigh Linsdell, an A&E nurse from Lincolnshire, started a campaign called "For The Love of Scrubs" (FTLOS) which asked members of the public to support by making scrubs at home. Thousands of volunteers answered the call, with many using the lockdown period to refresh their sewing skills to make scrubs at home.
Last week another batch of 40 pairs of scrubs were delivered to services run by the Tower Hamlets GP Care Group.
Diane Gould, Queens Nurse and nurse practitioner in the GP Care Group's 'Open Doors' Teaching Team, was thrilled to receive the scrubs. She said: "We don't usually wear scrubs in General Practice but under current circumstance we have had to start wearing them. Lots of us have tried to order scrubs but they have gone up in price and orders cannot be made for weeks. These wonderful people have taken matters into their own hands."
"These scrubs are invaluable for our Open Doors Teaching Team as we do two practice visits in a day. We are able to wear one pair of scrubs for a morning session and then another pair for the afternoon session, thereby maintaining infection control guidelines."
Delivered by the North and East London arm of the For the Love of Scrubs group, scrubs have also been distributed to the Tower Hamlets Urgent Treatment Centre, which is run by the GP Care Group.
Showing appreciation to everyone taking the time to support the NHS, Diane sent a message to FTLOS, saying: "Thank you so much for the wonderful scrubs and fabulous scrub bags delivered to us. Please pass my thanks and the thanks of the Tower Hamlets GP Care Group and Tower Hamlets general practices to everyone involved. You are all doing such a wonderful job and so appreciated by the whole of our NHS family."
The FTLOS group relies on generous donations to purchase material to make the scrubs. If you would like to donate please visit their Go Fund Me site.
