Posted on: Thursday 17 September 2020
Photo by Karen Stott
The council would like to thank a group of seamstresses for their hard work and effort in supporting the NHS during Covid-19.
Over the past six months, the group has been busy creating scrubs, drawstring bags and other handmade garments for our local NHS services.
On (12 August 2020 ) the group delivered their last batch of items to Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (ABUHB).
The Scrubs for ABUHB project’s biggest request was for cotton drawstring bags. These bags were made to wash worn scrubs in , the patient belongings bags were made in response to a request from the nhs for a better way of returning belongings to grieving relatives.
Although out of county, the work of Chris Hill and Betsi Knight located near Usk, were instrumental to the Scrubs for ABUHB project. Chris patterned and wrote instructions for the scrubs for the project and cut and packed the sewing kits for her area. Betsi dropped off the sewing packs to isolated seamstresses and collected the finished items from across the area.
In addition to her role as courier, Betsi personally supported many isolated seamstresses with her weekly visits, lifting their spirits with her cheery disposition (while adhering to social distancing measures).
Karen Stott, who instigated the scrubs project, and other team members created a variety of high quality items, and Jayne Kemp from Pontypool, and a cohort of skilled friends and neighbours, beautifully prepared over 100 bags for the NHS staff and patients.
Karen Stott said: “For me it has been a time of meeting lots of lovely new people, and getting to know others I already know a lot better. We took a leap of faith together at a difficult time.
“We all hope that the NHS will not be in such desperate need of scrubs again. The last scrubs that we made have gone into ‘pandemic stocks’, should the need arise.”
Councillor Joanne Gauden, executive member for business, regeneration, and skills said: “We would like to thank everyone who took part in the Scrubs for ABHB project from the pattern makers to the moral boosters for their generosity and hard work.
“The NHS have been put under considerable pressure over the last few months and groups like this have been a tremendous help.”