Luke Voogt
A thousand hats are en route to Geelong hospital to protect nurses and their families against coronavirus infection thanks to about 1450 volunteer sewers.
“We’ll have them delivered by the end of the week,” said Deb Elliott, coordinator of Helping our Hospital Heroes Australia.
The group, which had 1452 members as of Wednesday, has delivered about 3500 hats to hospitals across Australia with orders for 7000 more, according to Deb.
“I can’t believe how quickly this has expanded – it’s like Christmas; every time I look out my door, I’ve got more hats,” she said.
“There’s more sewers out there too because they enlist their mums, daughters and friends.”
Deb established the group during self-isolation after returning from New Zealand, coordinating 1000 hats for Royal Melbourne Hospital, the Independent revealed earlier this month.
The hats add to existing personal protective equipment (PPE) and help protect health professionals, particularly those with long hair, and their families against coronavirus, Deb explained.
She delivered a box of hats to University Hospital Geelong on Wednesday with a special message for health professionals:
“We just love making them for you and we appreciate everything you do for us.”
Deb warned the hospital was only accepting hats delivered by her for safety reasons. For information search: Helping our Hospital Heroes Australia.
Emma Bell, nurse unit manager of Barwon Health’s renal, acute pain and gastroenterology ward, thanked the group for their donation.
“It’s lovely that there are still so many people and groups out there wanting to donate and help where they can,” she said.
“Good hygiene is so essential to reducing the risk of spreading the COVID-19 virus, and healthcare staff are especially conscious of protecting themselves and their patients.
“These caps will be a welcome addition to the PPE equipment we’ve been using at Barwon Health.”
