COLLEGE TUTOR CRAFTS BESPOKE SCRUBS FOR LEICESTER NURSES

Image caption: Melinda Ingram making scrubs for nurses.

A tutor from North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College has started a cottage industry at home making individually styled colourful scrubs for staff in Leicester hospitals.

Melinda Ingram, who usually teaches English and psychology on a part-time basis at the college’s Wigston Campus, has been putting her time to good use during lockdown by converting unwanted bedlinen into colourful hospital scrubs. Melinda was inspired to get involved after a friend posted a plea for help on social media from a Quorn-based community group.

She joined a virtual group of ten people but soon recruited her own friends and neighbours, with her husband constructing a pattern template using 36 sheets of laminated A4 paper. The scrubs have been supplied to hospitals including Glenfield, Leicester General and the Leicester Royal Infirmary including to intensive care units and radiology departments. Having now completed her first ten sets of scrubs, Melinda is committed to helping the group meet its target of creating one hundred outfits.

Melinda said, “I used to make children’s clothes when I was in my twenties but since then, I have only sewn curtains and certainly nothing as ambitious as clothing. A set of scrubs includes a v neck top with sleeves, and trousers with pockets and a draw-string waist.

“I supply each set with its own pillowcase holder so that items can be taken away safely to be washed. I have enjoyed the challenge of using the fabric as economically as possible while also being creative and using lots of different colours so that every member of staff has their own bespoke design.

“The sewing has had its challenging moments, but my skills are returning. I am getting faster, neater, and more efficient. I have now completed my tenth set, with another four nearly ready and I now have two neighbours making up some sets that we have cut out previously. It was certainly a buzz to hear that my first three outfits were being worn on the wards the day after they had been collected. I am hoping that the scrubs will bring some cheer to those working on the frontline in difficult circumstances.”

Melinda retired from her job as a lecturer at the University of Leicester in 2013 and went on to study an MA in creative writing at Loughborough University. She is currently working on reports for assessed grades while the college is temporarily closed during lockdown.

NWSLC’s Wigston Campus is providing a welfare drop-in session between 11am and 1pm on weekdays for students in need of support. Students are being supported to continue their learning online, and the college continues to take applications for courses starting in September 2020.

Jo Carlton, Superintendent Radiographer at Leicester Royal Infirmary said, “Thank you to everyone who contributed to making scrubs for the staff in the radiology department. We really appreciate your kindness. They have been distributed to the interventional radiology departments at all three hospitals in Leicester. They have been received with great enthusiasm and the lovely prints and colours have been a wonderful morale booster.”

Marion Plant, OBE FCGI, Principal and Chief Executive of NWSLC said, “I have been so impressed with the ingenuity and creativity of colleagues across the college who have been helping the local community in so many ways. I am sure that Melinda’s bespoke PPE will be gratefully received by the dedicated NHS staff in Leicester who are working tirelessly to look after us at this time of national crisis.”