From the moment the Government announced the lockdown, teachers at the College mobilised to support those working on the frontline in the fight against Coronavirus.
The effort began with the Heads of Biology, Chemistry and Physics (Chris Bates, Jamie Styles and Christopher Telfer-Mason) sending supplies of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) to local GP surgeries. This was in response to urgent pleas of help from local doctors.
Since that initial shipment, further supplies have been sent to Epsom General Hospital, a second GP surgery in Mitcham, and The Children’s Trust in Tadworth – a local charity with long-standing links to the College.
Mike Day, teacher of DT, and Christopher Telfer-Mason have has also been busy using the College’s supply of polypropylene and its laser-cutting equipment to produce protective visors that are in such short supply.
At present, the College is working at full capacity producing an initial run of 200 visors, with 200 more to come off the production line in coming days.
These visors have already been tested by staff at Epsom General, including Catari Day, the wife of Granville HMM Mr Andrew Day.
Catari works at Epsom General as an Ophthalmic Nurse, having previously spent ten years as a Palliative care Nurse. During the Covid-19 pandemic, she has been moved to a ‘frontline’ high dependency respiratory ward, and will help to distribute Epsom College’s PPE donations to various wards at the hospital.
While the visors we are producing are not suitable for use in Intensive Care Units, as they have not been tested to the strict NHS or British Standards guidance surrounding PPE for healthcare workers, they are suitable in situations where hospital staff are interacting at a distance from patients. The feedback from NHS staff is that the visors are proving vital.
