Someone berated me for asking why they are making "Scrubs bags" for the NHS

[menacingvern]

I signed up to help this person, however all they seem to be making are pillow cases for doctors and nurses to take their scrubs home.
I thought this was really unhygienic as they are going to be made of cotton.

I told her they would have to be lined with some sort of plastic to stop infection and then she called me for everything.
She has people on her page saying "My (dad, mother,son,uncle,gran.....) died I would like the sheets she died in to be made into a nice bag for the NHS workers to know how much they meant to her"
I find this a bit weird, disgusting and a total spread of corona virus.
I may be totally wrong but I would not want to touch a dead persons sheets made into a scrub bag

Do you put your shopping straight in the washing machine in the bag?

I can only assume you are being deliberately obtuse and aren't really unable to grasp that a drawstring bag is far superior for carrying things than a pillowcase. It's not rocket science really - a drawstring bag is easier to carry and stops stuff falling out on the way home. In the case of scrubs it is also ideal as you can loosen the drawstring and shove it all in the washing machine. Unlike a pillowcase which is difficult to carry.

No one can seriously be unable to understand that.

This thread is ridiculous.

So tell me if you would be happy getting on a bus and sitting next to contaminated clothing in a cotton bag? Or do you think if it is a draw string bag or a pillow case it should be put in something more suitable, a plastic bag say?

Once again I am reminded of the irony of the Brits coining the phrase “Gerry built”.

I really hate people who sit on the sidelines and criticise.

If people are providing things which the NHS doesn't want, can't use or are not up to standard THEY WILL NOT BE USED.

The NHS isn't about making crafters feel good and make use of things which could potentially be making matters worse. They'd put out a message saying to stop making bags/scrubs/gowns/masks whatever. Which hasn't happened.

I don't believe for one second that anyone is sewing from the actual sheets that someone has died on. Lots of home sewers are making scrubs, headbands, face masks and scrub bags to help support. Pretty much all of these volunteers are women, so way to go denigrating the efforts that women are making to help support care homes, GP surgeries and the NHS. lots of fabric business are donating hundreds of yards of fabric to these groups and they're plugging the gap until the government get their fingers out of their arses. But you go on describing the things they are making as disgusting.

My mum had made near on 500 of theses bags

People have whipped them up!!!! Drs. Nurses. My next door neighbours are both nurses. And took in 300 to our hospital.

I got berated for not donating my time and money to make them. Sorry but I’m trying to salvage my business and don’t exactly want to spend endless hours on something our local trust said they wouldn’t take.

A friend who is a ward sister in geriatric care (30 years experience) is currently finishing up her isolation period before going back to work after having Covid. She is filling the time sewing scrubs AND scrubs bags for herself and her colleagues. Germs can’t pass through the cotton bag unless it gets wet - it’s not the same as being sneezed or coughed out. I trust that she knows this is a useful way to spend her precious recuperation time.

I think people's desire to help can indeed be a bit misplaced. Same with the endless Facebook threads to make baby hats for preemies. Apparently there are quite strict requirements on thread type and the hospitals throw away almost all the donations they get , because they can't be sure how the item was made.

You do know that the virus doesn't move OP? As in the virus is not mobile, it gets moved around on people's hands, on surfaces and moves as it gets coughed or sneezed out of an infected persons body. If the virus is present on the scrubs, the nurse/doctor will put the scrubs into the cotton bag, wash their hands then travel home with the virus on the scrubs but inside the bag then throw the whole lot into the washing machine. The virus cannot crawl off the scrubs and out of the bag! You won't need something to stop it leaking out like water does. This is why cotton masks offer some protection. If you sneeze in to it and have the virus, it will contain it but not if the mask gets saturated from lots of sneezing. The scrubs and bag will not be saturated enough to render the cotton useless

I agree with Tootletum. People want to feel they are doing something to help. However very few of these schemes will have been requested by trusts and hospitals and will not be used or distributed in an official way. I know my trust has asked people not to do this but has set up an email contact for people wanting to make things.

I know of one nurse and one doctor - personal friends - at opposite ends of the country, one has been given a scrubs bag, one has been given a headband, both made at home by volunteers, both are being used.

This is just a rehash of the usual "handcrafted things are crap and you're better buying from a shop" thread which we are usually treated to before Christmas.

I'm making mine out of old cotton pyjamas that can be put straight in the washing machine with disinfectant.

Re the dead person's sheets, yes that's a bit morbid, but you are uninformed about the need for washable scrubs bags. There are thousands of folks, myself included, giving our time and materials for free to sew scrubs, scrubs bags, caps and gowns etc, as doctors, nurses etc are requesting. Are you doing anything to help others?

Or do you think if it is a draw string bag or a pillow case it should be put in something more suitable, a plastic bag say?

It looks as if a cotton bag is a better barrier than plastic - especially as it is being put straight into the washing machine at 60 degrees. The research suggests the virus survives longer on shiny surfaces like stainless steel and plastic.

I don’t know what else staff are meant to do with their scrubs if there is no laundry where they work. It seems like a really practical use of old duvets, pillow cases etc.

i work in a gp surgery and before this have always worn my own clothes, some of which cant be washed at very high temperatures. now i wear a lovely pair of handmade scrubs that i change out if before i come home. they go in a cotton bag that then goes in my normal bag along with my lunch and my pen etc. when i get home i put the cotton bag straight in the wash so cotton is the best as i dont then have to take the scrubs out the bag and this is then hot washed. there aren't laundry facilities in gp surgerys! i then shower and wash my hair.

my work bag stays in a certain place in the house and is only used for work trips. my lunchbox has to come out and goes round the dishwasher at 70. my phone is wiped with disinfectant. its not perfect infection control but its the best we can do at the moment.

so yes please to scrubs (basicily any 100% cotton simple short sleeved top and trousers with pockets) and bags for the scrubs.

im now looking to make some cloth caps so i don't have to wash hair daily.

ideally of course all nhs staff would have dedicated changing facilities with showers at work and their clothes laundered there but thats not possible

@PineappleDanish if someone made me a nice cotton drawstring bag Id of course be grateful, providing it wasn't made of a dead patients sheets. Id probably feel a bit guilty using is for gross scrubs tbh

Im not mocking people making them, but I do feel a bit uncomfortable with some of the things people are making. I dont want people to go to effort for things that will be wasted

Im not mocking people making them, but I do feel a bit uncomfortable with some of the things people are making. I dont want people to go to effort for things that will be wasted

That's why many of us are doing things specifically asked for by trusts/hospitals.

So all the carpers can stop worrying/criticising

It's quite simple really. Local sewers have been asked by local NHS / care staff to make things like butoned headbands and scrub bags because it makes their lives a little easier. These are made and delivered directly to the person/organisation asking for them.

Scrubs are being made by local professinal sewer, tailors etc and have some quite stringent guidelines about type of material etc. A friend, dressmaker, is currently GoFunding the cost of the fabric as she can give her time for free but cannot afford the material - which was hard to trace and is in short suppy in the UK as many small businesses are now making scrubs. Like my friend they have been asked by their local NHS directly, given the guidelines, have provided proof their fabrics etc meet them and are now sewing like crazy to get as many sewn up in as short a time as possible!

Home sewers shpuldn't be making scrubs out of anything. They probably won't have the correct fabric! That's why they are making useful, not necessary stuff like bags, headbands etc.

It probably depends on the trust and that’s where the confusion comes from, that with Facebook posts shared thousands of times.
Buttoned headbands are absolutely not allowed in our trust. Unfortunately because it’s a state of dmet

Just to add its not just Doctors and Nurses who are wearing scrubs!
My local team are also making them for relatives to wear when they are making a final visit to a loved one. Nevermind Care home staff, or LA workers delivering food parcels etc.

And after this I hope we start putting Laundries back into hospitals, stop nurses travelling in their Uniforms but have them washed at hospital. Ideally I'd like cleaning services brought back "in house" and hospitals properly cleaned. We are going to need proper old fashioned infection control measures both for the next Pandemic and as we more and more anti-biotics aren't of use anymore.
Of course we also need higher taxes to pay for everything...

so yes please to scrubs (basicily any 100% cotton simple short sleeved top and trousers with pockets) Wel meant as I am sure this is, please don't think your local hospital will accept anything you make! The fabric must be EN17 certified and in plain colours.

Emergency, it’s been quite low down on the list to update and give evidence based infection control knowledge.

Apologies I had accidentally posted before I finished.

Indeed - I wouldn't want to start making scrubs out of old duvet covers. This is why the supply of scrubs is being managed, and special fabric supplied. (Think the group is called For the Love of Scrubs)

But bags or headbands are a different matter. They're not essential, but make life easier for staff. The only guidelines we were given for scrubs bags were that they should be of a fabric suitable for washing at 60c, and of a size big enough for a set of adult clothing. Anyone who does any sewing will know whether they have fabric which fits that brief.

I commented on a post about making drawstring bags suggesting using a pillowcase and was shot down! Apparently it needs a drawstring so things don't fall out, I would've thought the envelope top was enough...I think people just want to feel helpful and keep themselves busy!