Making Gowns for NHS staff
Donation protected
UK hospitals are severely short of medical gowns as they fight coronavirus. Since the 17th of April, we have been getting desperate calls from London medics asking us, a small group of independent designers and makers, if we could produce some. When you receive an urgent, potentially life-saving request like this, you can't say no. But we need your help.
Many sewers across the country currently make scrubs, but these medical gowns are very different. For starters, they're more expensive because they're made of splash-proof fabric. Due to safety guidelines, they're also single-use, which in medical terms means that they can only be worn for one shift. And they need to be made by skilled sewers as the material is tricky to handle.
Our goal is now revised to £150,000, as we are hoping to continue replenishing acutely short stocks in the weeks to come, after successfully providing gowns to Royal Brompton and Homerton University Hospitals.
Meeting the new goal will allow us to produce 10,000 units. The cost of each gown was originally estimated at £30, now down to £15 due to the generous donations which allow us to buy fabric in bulk:
£5 for fabric, elastics, thread and delivery (down from £20!)
£10 for 2 hours of cutting and sewing. This will cover the costs of industrial machines and steam irons energy consumption, and give our tireless sewers a small remuneration for their time (to clarify - Bella Gonshorovitz, organising this fundraiser, will be coordinating the sewing effort as well as sewing some of the gowns)
Please help us to help the NHS staff risking their health and their lives. They must be protected.
*Illustration by Geffen Rafaeli - Thank you Geffen!
Many sewers across the country currently make scrubs, but these medical gowns are very different. For starters, they're more expensive because they're made of splash-proof fabric. Due to safety guidelines, they're also single-use, which in medical terms means that they can only be worn for one shift. And they need to be made by skilled sewers as the material is tricky to handle.
Our goal is now revised to £150,000, as we are hoping to continue replenishing acutely short stocks in the weeks to come, after successfully providing gowns to Royal Brompton and Homerton University Hospitals.
Meeting the new goal will allow us to produce 10,000 units. The cost of each gown was originally estimated at £30, now down to £15 due to the generous donations which allow us to buy fabric in bulk:
£5 for fabric, elastics, thread and delivery (down from £20!)
£10 for 2 hours of cutting and sewing. This will cover the costs of industrial machines and steam irons energy consumption, and give our tireless sewers a small remuneration for their time (to clarify - Bella Gonshorovitz, organising this fundraiser, will be coordinating the sewing effort as well as sewing some of the gowns)
Please help us to help the NHS staff risking their health and their lives. They must be protected.
*Illustration by Geffen Rafaeli - Thank you Geffen!
Organizer
Bella Gonshorovitz
Organizer
England