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Protective screens create additional protection at OUH

22/09/2020
This article is more than three years old.
OUH Orthotics team

More than 100 protective screens have been manufactured to help keep patients, visitors, and staff at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The screens, made by the Trust's Orthotics team, have been fitted in workspaces and public areas, such as reception areas, to keep people safe as services resume across the Trust.

They are being used in areas at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre (NOC) in Oxford, as well as the Horton General Hospital in Banbury.

In total, 87 fixed screens have been manufactured and fitted and 61 portable screens have been manufactured and delivered across the four sites since the first one was made on 6 June 2020.

Designed from scratch, the screens are cut and manufactured in the Orthotics workshop at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre. The screens are then assembled and fixed or delivered to where they are needed.

A video of a screen being made at the NOC can be watched on YouTube.

Each screen is unique to match the area, with the largest fitted so far measuring at 11.2 meters in the Ear, Nose and Throat department in the West Wing at the John Radcliffe Hospital.

Arron Jones, Orthotics Production Manager at the Trust, said: "I am really proud of all of my team for the hard work and dedication in this time of great need. We have also managed to keep providing an excellent service for our patients while simultaneously carrying out this significant screen project.

"As a result of the successful rollout of this project, the Trust has managed to ensure staff, visitors and patients are protected.

"It has been a lot of hard work, with the team working extra hours, although we all feel this is the least we can do to protect people. The team morale has been excellent throughout."

At the start of lockdown, Orthotics staff were manufacturing protective visors, which are still being used in NOC theatres, before changing their focus to protective screens.

The team was tasked with fitting screens just at the NOC Physiotherapy and Orthotics departments, but this quickly developed into a Trust-wide screen project.

Normally, the team of 15 manufactures custom-made orthotic devices for a diverse range of patients with varying health conditions, such as stroke, Cerebral Palsy and Motor Neurone Disease among others.

Lisa Glynn, Interim Director of Clinical Services at the Trust, said: "The highly-skilled Orthotics team has adapted magnificently to the demands of COVID-19, and we are thankful for all of their hard work.

"By producing these protective screens, the team is helping to keep patients, visitors and staff on Trust sites as safe as possible."