The Scrub Hub blog was written by Caroline Morrell, a new dialysis patient at the Bolton unit and also a member of Bolton Scrub Hub.
Few will forget the UK viral pandemic of Covid 19 in 2020 for many reasons. Those who became the essential workers keeping the country running, the NHS front-line staff, those who became ill but survived and the many who sadly lost loved ones to the virus.
A group of men and women responded to provide a little-known service to the health sector. They volunteered to make and donate items like scrubs, scrub bags, head covers, gowns, knitted mask adaptors and reusable face visors. What started as scrubs being sewn from old bedding snowballed into a mini-industry run with military precision.
Hubs sprang up across Greater Manchester involving men and women who sewed, knitted and delivered the items where needed. Social media spread the word as more people joined up, all united to play their part in the fight against Covid 19. Some were NHS patients giving back for care received, some working in the NHS and other jobs, bikers who couriered deliveries and car drivers who ferried items around Bolton between the sewers, coordinators and dispatch points. A coordinator oversaw the allocated knitters and sewers within their group, liaised with other coordinators and organised the dispatch of completed items. A distribution point (usually someone’s home) was set up, and the car drivers ferried completed items to that point, and then bikers and other drivers made the deliveries.
Fundraisers were set up to buy the correct fabric, with industry partners becoming involved to laser cut the fabric and store the reams of fabric. Another industry partner supplied reusable face visors. From small tasks like sewing on buttons to mask adjuster bands, each person offered a vital skill, and everyone came together with a common purpose to make the hub work. Bolton Hospital, Bolton Hospice and Bolton Dialysis Unit all received donations from Bolton Scrub Hub.
At some point when the virus pandemic is over, all the men and women from the scrub hub will return to their lives without fanfare. But they will be able to look back with pride, knowing that when they were needed, they volunteered for the common good irrespective of how large or small their role and delivered a vital service where there was a need.