After the initial shock of lockdown had subsided, I began to wonder how I could help. How could I get involved in my community in some way? What skills did I have that I could use to help? With a sister working as an A&E nurse I was well aware of the difficulties facing many staff in the NHS but only really knew about the need for scrubs as the crisis unfolded.

Before lockdown I had been lecturing at the University of Gloucestershire on the fashion design course as well working with Create Gloucestershire helping to set up the Creative Trade Route initiative.

As luck would have it these two works strands came together with perfect synchronicity at the peak of the UK coronavirus crisis as I got involved in making scrubs for Gloucestershire NHS Trust.

Collaborating with the University of Gloucestershire fashion design course, ex students, lecturers and course leaders, ACP, Create Gloucestershire, Dressing for Medics, and Emma Willis we quickly mobilised an efficient and skilled set of volunteers who could cut, sew, pack and deliver garments to approved NHS standards and fit.

Having connections through the Gloucestershire Creative Trade Route group, I was able to enlist our team really quickly so that we could get Scrubs to where they were needed.

{The Creative Trade Route has participants from many business and community initiatives and successfully links people and skills together to collaborate on local projects.}

Additionally Scrub Hub sewing groups were popping up all over the country as a reaction to shortages in PPE and we wanted to support the Gloucestershire region where we could.

Social distancing measures and nationwide lockdown meant that it was not simply about filling the UOG fashion design room with capable and experienced makers (although we did do this too) We were only able to allow 5 people to work at a time and had to adhere to strict social distances and hygiene guidelines.

We contacted ex fashion students of UOG and decided to work in shifts to create a production line. The University of Gloucestershire wholeheartedly supported the initiative and opened up the University work rooms to help make it possible.

Individuals would collect fabric and trims which would then be stitched together on the line throughout the days we could sew. We also had a fashion design graduate who was stitching the inseam of the trousers at home before we collected and added to the line.

The first batch of 40 pre-cut scrubs were delivered through Dulcie Scott, Costume designer and force behind the Dressing for Medics crowdfunding initiative. We produced this initial batch in a few days using our skills across fashion, design, pattern cutting, sewing, production and fashion buying. This first batch was delivered to Gloucester Royal Infirmary whose teams were in desperate need .

Approved fabric and trims were becoming in short supply in the Uk, due to an unprecedented upturn in demand. So we partnered with Emma Willis of Gloucester shirtmaker who had been gifted linen fabric and turned her hand to supporting the NHS and the national effort to get scrubs produced quickly and delivered where they were needed. With support from Emma’s team we were able to start on the next batch and use fabric and trims provided by her.

Over the coming weeks we reached 140 pairs of scrubs which were all delivered to Gloucester Royal Hospital. The ACP Creative Trade Route network enabled our volunteers to mobilise fast, and work together quickly to produce garments for our local NHS teams.. This efficient place-based model quickly supplied valuable scrubs for Gloucestershire NHS staff and made use of the local expertise and insight of the trade route partners and professionals working within Gloucestershire.

Creative Trade Route partners collaborate to make scrubs for Gloucestershire medics

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