Creative nurses don cartoon-themed PPE to put children at ease
15 May 2020
Nurses working at a special school in Shropshire have created special cartoon-themed PPE to help children feel more at ease during the coronavirus crisis.
The creative nurses, who work for Shropshire Community Health, and based at Severndale Specialist Academy in Shrewsbury, have decorated their visors with superheroes, rainbows, Minnie Mouse ears and unicorns.
Severndale Academy in Shrewsbury provides specialist education for young people with a range of disabilities, and has a dedicated team of school nurses on site to help with students’ health needs.
Lorraine Sonders, Special School Nurse at Shropshire Community Health (Shropcom), said: “We are supporting children with a variety of complex needs so we have been doing everything we can to make everyone feel at ease.
“Normally we would wear casual clothes to make students more comfortable but we have had to don full uniform and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to help save lives and stop the spread of coronavirus.
“The masks and visors can be quite intimidating for children and we did notice some students seemed a little more anxious around us. We decided to get creative and make them more child friendly.
“There has been big difference in the way children interact with us now – they are a lot more relaxed and respond really well to the colourful images and decorations.”
As well as the decorations, the school nurse team have added large picture name badges so students can quickly identify them.
Kate Medhurst, Community Children’s Service Manager at Shropcom, said: “Whether it’s in our hospitals or out in the community, we are doing everything we can to ensure the safety and comfort of both patients and staff during these unprecedented times.
“PPE has become an integral part of our efforts to save lives, but we are conscious that visors may appear scary to some children.
“The school nurse team came up with this ingenious idea and it has proved to be a real ice-breaker with children at the school. The Minnie Mouse ears, rainbows and superheroes make the students feel at ease and also helps our staff connect with them quickly.”
Severndale Academy in Shrewsbury provides specialist education for young people with a range of disabilities, and has a dedicated team of school nurses on site to help with students’ health needs.
Lorraine Sonders, Special School Nurse at Shropshire Community Health (Shropcom), said: “We are supporting children with a variety of complex needs so we have been doing everything we can to make everyone feel at ease.
“Normally we would wear casual clothes to make students more comfortable but we have had to don full uniform and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to help save lives and stop the spread of coronavirus.
“The masks and visors can be quite intimidating for children and we did notice some students seemed a little more anxious around us. We decided to get creative and make them more child friendly.
“There has been big difference in the way children interact with us now – they are a lot more relaxed and respond really well to the colourful images and decorations.”
As well as the decorations, the school nurse team have added large picture name badges so students can quickly identify them.
Kate Medhurst, Community Children’s Service Manager at Shropcom, said: “Whether it’s in our hospitals or out in the community, we are doing everything we can to ensure the safety and comfort of both patients and staff during these unprecedented times.
“PPE has become an integral part of our efforts to save lives, but we are conscious that visors may appear scary to some children.
“The school nurse team came up with this ingenious idea and it has proved to be a real ice-breaker with children at the school. The Minnie Mouse ears, rainbows and superheroes make the students feel at ease and also helps our staff connect with them quickly.”
Page last reviewed: 29 September 2021
Next review due: 1 October 2024