Coronavirus: Wacky and wonderful scrubs for NHS workers

A fashion designer's quest to help the NHS fight coronavirus has led to more than 400 volunteers making scrubs in wacky and wonderful colours and designs.

Lynda Yong, a seamstress in Berkshire, started the "Scrubs, Glorious Scrubs" campaign to make non-surgical uniforms for doctors and nurses.

So far more than 1,000 of the eye-catching garments have been made.

Ms Yong said the response from the volunteers had been "unbelievable".

She has teamed up with events organiser Sunita Shroff to cope with the increasing amount of orders and material donations.

The couture designer started making scrubs after she contacted staff at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, with one senior staff member saying they needed 2,000 sets.

Increasing demand soon meant Ms Yong and her volunteers needed more fabric to make the uniforms, which led to the mayor of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Sayonara Luxton, starting a fundraising effort to purchase materials.

Being unable to stick to traditional colours led to the volunteers becoming creative with their designs.

Now, after almost a month in operation, a site has been set up for volunteers to send or drop off their colourful uniforms which would then be passed on to the hospitals.

"It's cheered everybody up," said Ms Yong, from Ascot.

"Our army of volunteers have produced more than 1,300. It's just phenomenal.

"This is a serious time, but it's [the scrubs] made people smile.

"For me it's really important that the staff feel comfortable, feel supported, and want to go to work."

Callum Clark, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Wexham Park Hospital, said the need for scrubs arose from concerns over doctors, who do not wear a standard uniform, "bringing the virus home to their loved ones".

He said anxiety among staff had led to supplies of surgical scrubs in operating theatres being depleted because more staff wanted to wear them.

Dr Clark said the campaign by Ms Yong to produce non-surgical scrubs provided a solution that had "snowballed" and seen the issues over a lack of supplies subside, as well as being "really heart-warming for staff".

"The hero or heroine is Lynda here, without question," he said.

"She has managed an impeccable team of 400 volunteers. I'm wearing a very colourful skull and cross bones one."

Dr Clark said while boosting morale among staff, the bright colours also lightened the mood of patients who were coming into hospital for issues not related to coronavirus, but concerned about contracting the virus.