Hampton School is playing its part in the national response against the coronavirus pandemic by making and supplying vital protective equipment to local NHS staff.

Many GPs, community nurses and care home staff are working without sufficient access to any personal protective equipment (PPE), greatly increasing their risk of contracting the COVID-19 virus.

Responding to the urgent PPE need, Hampton‘s Design and Engineering Department quickly produced an easily manufacturable face shield that can be made in the school workshops using laser-cutting equipment. They are currently producing 100 units a day and hope to shortly increase this to 150 units a day soon.

Design and Engineering teacher, Oliver Keattch, is working every day to meet the demand. The school has already supplied face shields to the Richmond and Hounslow NHS Trust community nursing team, NHS units in Surrey and GP surgeries in Stockwell. Mr Jason Holdaway who heads Hampton’s Design and Engineering Department says the school is just glad to be able to play a part in supporting healthcare professionals:

Our face shields are quick and easy to produce in the school workshops and we are very happy to continue to make them for as long as is needed. The feedback from the NHS workers we have helped so far has been wonderful and very heart-warming.

Dr Charlotte Canniff, Clinical Chair of Surrey Heartlands Clinical Commissioning Group, took delivery of one of the first batches of face shields:

Face Shields provide an extra layer of protection for health and care staff when interacting with our patients, both for our staff and the patients we are seeing. Thank you Hampton School for your fantastic ingenuity and effort. The first batch has been delivered to Sunbury Health Centre GP Practice which serves around 20,000 people. From here we will share with our wider community teams including our Nurses, District Nurses and Community Paramedics. Further batches when available will be sent to other local areas to support the national PPE programme which is still struggling to deliver at the pace required.

Hampton face shields are made on school premises and are not intended to be a replacement for professional PPE. For the time being however, they can hopefully help those doctors, nurses and carers who are lacking protective equipment.  Alongside the production of face shields,  Hampton School has also donated over 300 science goggles to the local Hounslow NHS Trust and, on week days, is partnering with Lady Eleanor Holles School to provide daily care for children – from several local schools – of key workers.

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