Sheffield Scrubs Up Sewing club create PPE for the NHS

A Sheffield sewing group have appealed for £20,000 pounds after running out of supplies to produce PPE for the NHS.

Sheffield Scrubs Up have sewn almost five hundred sets of scrubs since being set up in March, but have received requests to produce 680 more.

Amy Palmer, co-organiser of the group, said: "The NHS is not a charity, and we do not believe they should be having to ask for help in this manner.

"But the fact is our healthcare workers are at risk and in need, so regardless of the underlying politics we will do all we can."

So far, more than ten thousand pounds has been raised from a Crowdfunder set up in April. The sum will cover the costs of fabric and thread, but purchasing in bulk has allowed the group to negotiate better prices.

The group have also received support from local businesses, with Core Climbing in Dronfield having used their machinery to make reusable pattern pieces for the group. Individual volunteers have also contributed.

The group, which started on Facebook, has seen over three hundred people sign up to volunteer and have temporarily turned off the online registration to keep up with numbers.

Becky Ashfield, one of the volunteers, said: "An operation like this would usually take months to set up, with a team of staff. But somehow we've done it in a matter of days, and we've done it all without meeting up physically."

Ashfield has put her own upcycling business Graft on hold, and turned her front room into a warehouse in which she's worked for 18 hours a day to coordinate supplies.

The volunteers are unpaid and proceeds go directly to purchasing enough fabric to produce around one thousand sets of scrubs.

The group have continued to appeal for donations over the past week, which can be made via their crowdfunder.

"What's amazed me as much as the kindness people have shown is the innovation displayed in response to the challenges we face," said Palmer. "Whether it is fabric and pattern shortages or customising the design for more efficient production, one of our volunteers will find a solution."

NHS organisations in need of scrubs have been urged to contact the Scrubs Up website.