Are you any good at sewing? The NHS is short on Scrubs

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Just to let people know there is a Facebook group called For The Love of Scrubs.

The page gives patterns, advice, support and links to material suppliers.

www.facebook.com/groups/1500699350098765/

if you think you can help please give it look.

I didn't realise scrubs expire?

Permana I completely agree about fast fashion manufacturers, as long as they can keep their workers safe.

Re: why they didn't ask uk manufacturers. It was discussed on the world service last week or there abouts, about this. They interviewed a manufacturer who said they and other manufacturers were contacted by the government weeks ago, they said yes, the government didn't get back in contact, manufacturers contacted the government to say if you need orders you need to do it asap as we're on the brink of going under due to no orders. Some have managed to stay open but they're struggling to produce the amounts required with lack of material (imported) and lack of staff.

I would have loved to have helped but my machine is broken, kept putting it off taking it to a repairers to get it fixed

So somebody good at cutting, cuts them and then hands them onto someone good at sewing .
Surely that could be organised.
Or am I being too optimistic.

does anyone know whether an overlocker is essential to make scrubs for scrubhub? I have asked my local hub but not had an answer maybe a french seam would work instead?

In the area where I live the local for the Love of Scrubs will send you pre-cut fabric reading for sewing.

Might be worth finding if you local group does that.

www.facebook.com/groups/1500699350098765/

Alternatively, www.medsupplydrive.org.uk/ are looking for people who can sew and / or donations of cotton, especially large sheets, that can be seen into scrubs

That is just crazy...out of old sheets?
My god this is a first world country
And our key workers are expected to wear scrubs from old sheets..

No way
I’m dreaming this 😡

Don't want to spoil the enthusiasm but my sister is a nurse and said that they have to bin most of the home made stuff that the well-meaning members of the public are dropping off as it simply does not meet requirements. I haven't checked out the link in this thread but please do check with a local hospital that what you are intending to make is considered suitable. My dsis said lots of the facebook posts with suggested items/patterns fall far short of minimim standards. One lovely lady made over 100 masks out of old duvet covers and they were binned immediately

I dont know of any group sewing masks for NHS staff. I think everyone knows that homemade masks are nowhere near medical standards.

I too wonder about old sheets! But have seen requests for anyone who has unused cotton material to donate it. And again in most instances are making scrubs on individual orders, based on design specified.

But I suppose each group in each area is working differently.

What a shame that the 100 masks weren't donated to members of the public who might want the comfort of wearing some sort of face covering in say supermarkets.

But in the end all of this amounts to the totallly incompetent management by the Government and in some instances NHS trusts.

Surely someone somewhere could have made public the specifications of anything that someone could make at home. I wonder if it was this chaotic in WWII.

I think the difficulty with these pop-up schemes is that there needs to be quality control and clearer expectations of what is involved. A lot of home sewers may have a basic machine and sufficient capability but not access to the appropriate materials, pattern cutting or a machine suitable to cope with the material and robust stitching required. I feel many are making do in their enthusiasm but perhaps wasting time and resources by not producing a usable product. There are still garment, footwear and soft furnishing factories in UK and Ireland better equipped to produce these in volume.

LIZS Most of the FB sites are quite organised, people making scrubs have to use the right grade material, which is bought or donated. They have to be able sew to the requirements necessary. Scrubs are made to order, so a hospital, surgery, carers, or individual makes a request and the specification, (some surgeries, carers just want cotton scrubs not a particular material and don't mind patterns)
people who can't make scrubs, are making scrub bags and head bands.

Our council has put out a request for ppe but is not accepting donations unless they meet a certain grade and are authorised. I'm sure some groups have sorted this already but I do know of some disappointed initiatives and home sewers who cannot meet the criteria.

Bill Gates predicted a Pandemic years ago, and gave a TED talk on the necessity of being prepared. He’s also a massive donor to the WHO.

The UK Government had an exercise in 2016 to see how well the country could respond of a pandemic. The conclusion was that the NHS was not able to meet the extreme need of a pandemic. The Government did nothing.

Following a similare scenario in Switzerland they started stockpiling.