When our hospitals began to run perilously short of protective face visors for frontline staff, the estates team rose to the challenge manufacturing 1,500 visors over the course of a weekend.
Members of the team were initially asked to produce 500 visors within 24 hours. Undaunted by the task at hand, interim estates manager Billy Retter dismantled an existing visor and made a sketch of the various parts to create a makeshift design which was sent to London-based contractor RFP.
The contractor sourced all the necessary materials: polycarbonate plastic, elastic and special foam, then cut the plastic and attached the foam sending 500 visors back to the Trust within 12 hours of the order. The estates team then created an efficient production line to finalise the visors within 18 hours.
A further 1,000 visors were then completed for use across the hospital.
Commenting, Jan McGuinness, chief operating officer, said: “This was such an incredible effort involving many people from across the Trust. We often talk about having a ‘can-do’ attitude, but I’ve never seen anything on this scale before. This effort has humbled many of us.”
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