Covid heroes who created 3,000 scrubs during pandemic celebrated with special display in Southport

Andrew Brown
4 Min Read
For The Love Of Scrubs is being celebrated with a special quilt exhibition at The Atkinson in Southport

A group of volunteers who produced 3,000 scrubs for NHS staff at Southport Hospital and Ormskirk Hospital during the coronavirus pandemic are being celebrated in a very special exhibition in Southport. 

The Southport & Ormskirk district volunteers of For the Love of Scrubs have created a beautifully detailed quilt representing their experiences of Covid-19.

The fascinating quilt has this week gone on display in the foyer of The Atkinson on Lord Street in Southport. It will take pride of place there until Saturday, October 24. 

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, For the Love of Scrubs was set up in March this year by nurse Ashleigh Linsdell at Lincolnshire Hospital.

After being unable to locate scrubs for herself, Ashleigh asked her friends on Facebook if anyone could make her a set. This request went viral and soon after Ashleigh set up the For the Love of Scrubs Facebook group.

Volunteers who joined the group were asked to adopt a hospital or trust district.

Angela Firth headed up the Southport and Ormskirk district which quickly attracted 300 volunteers and the support of Visualpoint which created a fundraising page for the group.

Fabric donations came in readily from the public and the group received hundreds of metres of fabric from John Lewis in Liverpool and Scrubs Glorious Scrubs in Ascot.

KC Workwear in Birkdale printed full-scale sewing patterns for the group and a tailor in Ormskirk, Chris Chappel, cut out the patterns. This enabled the group to increase production.

To date the volunteers of Southport and Ormskirk district For the Love of Scrubs have sewn 3,000 scrubs, helped 12 NHS hospitals, several surgeries and numerous individuals.

For The Love Of Scrubs is being celebrated with a special quilt exhibition at The Atkinson in Southport
For The Love Of Scrubs is being celebrated with a special quilt exhibition at The Atkinson in Southport

During a slow period in production when the group was awaiting supplies, Angela suggested that the volunteers create a square patch representing their experiences of Covid-19.

The 45 patches were sewn together to make a beautifully detailed quilt,which is  now on display in The Atkinson foyer.

Angela said: “It has been more than a production of scrubs. 

“I feel that it has become a club. It is a place where you can share thoughts, worries, it’s certainly helped many of us with our mental health, given us a feeling of being useful and a purpose at a time when we just didn’t know what to do with ourselves.” 

 

For The Love Of Scrubs is being celebrated with a special quilt exhibition at The Atkinson in Southport
For The Love Of Scrubs is being celebrated with a special quilt exhibition at The Atkinson in Southport

To find out more about For The Love Of Scrubs, please visit:
www.fortheloveofscrubs.net

facebook.com/groups/ForTheLoveOfScrubsUK

Do you have a story for Stand Up For Southport? Please message Andrew Brown via Facebook here or email me at: mediaandrewbrown@gmail.com

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