2 weeks Ago
AN exhibition at Worcester's new medical school will explore sustainable personal protective equipment (PPE) in the health service. The exhibition, which will be on display at the Elizabeth Garrett-Anderson building on the University of Worcester's Severn Campus from Monday, April 28 to Friday, June 13, will showcase Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded research into the development of a sustainable uniform for nurses and surgeons. The PPE has been designed within a circular system, involving the repurposing of used garments within healthcare, and the fashion and textile industry, to benefit medical staff, patients, and the environment.
Professor Kay Mohanna from the Three Counties Medical School said: "The exhibition taps into the creative expertise of people who work in fashion and design and brings it together with the need for the NHS to be mindful of sustainability. "It’s really important for our students, the clinicians of the future, to be thinking about the impact they can have on the environment, because planetary health has an impact on human health." The exhibition is centred around a reusable PPE gown for nurses and surgeons designed to avoid landfill waste, as well as work showcasing creative ways to upcycle used gowns into new products.
The reusable gown was created by a team led by Professor Katherine Townsend from Nottingham School of Art and Design at Nottingham Trent University. Professor Townsend said: "Early in the COVID pandemic I read lots of reports about healthcare workers being uncomfortable in single use, one sized, isolation gowns, most of which were being imported. "I had the idea to make a more fit-for-purpose, reusable gown based on feedback from nursing professionals.
"With the support of funding from the Arts & Humanities Research Council and UK partners Anze Ltd and Revolution-Zero we made and tested this prototype." The public lecture will mark the launch of the exhibition, exploring the newly designed reusable gown’s development and design, the repurposing and refashioning initiatives and the project’s next stages. To book your place at the lecture visit the University of Worcester website.
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