How staff and students at the University of Portsmouth are helping in the fight against Coronavirus

As we all work to adapt to the challenges of a new routine and help in the fight against COVID-19, whether we are protecting health professionals or supporting those in isolation, staff and students at the University of Portsmouth are working hard to support our community.
The University of Portsmouth is producing face shieldsThe University of Portsmouth is producing face shields
The University of Portsmouth is producing face shields

A team from the university has collaborated to make face shields (pictured above) to protect healthcare professionals on the front line of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 2,000 shields have been supplied to the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham and other Solent NHS Trusts. A further 1,500 face shields have been made for the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service and Hampshire Constabulary.

The team has sufficient plastic to produce another 9,000 to 10,000 shields and work is continuing to manufacture this essential equipment for our local community.

Dr Sarah FouchDr Sarah Fouch
Dr Sarah Fouch

The face shields prevent a user from touching their face and provide a barrier if a patient was to sneeze or cough. The shields are safe, easy to use and fit on top of the approved personal protective equipment (PPE) that healthcare workers are using - providing an additional layer of protection between staff and patients.

In comparison to standard face shield designs, which take one to two hours to produce using standard 3D printing technology, the new laser-cut design cuts the time it takes to produce a mask to less than 30 seconds.

A number of departments across the university are donating vital supplies, to address the critical need to provide PPE to healthcare professionals and key workers as they work on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The university’s Institute of Criminal Justice Studies has donated its forensic teaching supplies to the NHS. Through an assessment of stock, a number of items were donated including paper and fabric face masks, gloves, hair nets, shoe covers and full-body protective suits.

The Schools of Biological Sciences and Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences have made a donation to Portsmouth City Council of nitrile gloves, face shields and safety eye wear.

The Centre for Enzyme Innovation and School of Biological Sciences has loaned equipment to Queen Alexandra Hospital to support a team investigating the genetic sequencing of COVID-19. A number of our staff will also be working on this research in collaboration with colleagues at the hospital.

Donating expertise and time

Dr Sarah Fouch, Senior Lecturer in Microbiology (pictured right), is helping with the fight against coronavirus by working weekends at her local hospital.

She has maintained her Biomedical Scientists HCPC registration, meaning she was able to step right in when asked to join the testing team at the lab when the number of tests required started to grow a few weeks ago.

Sarah said: ‘It’s vital to know how many people with symptoms don’t have the virus and may be able to return to frontline work.

‘This is absolutely critical for NHS staff. By testing as many people as possible we can also identify those who may have no or mild symptoms and could potentially be infecting other people.’

Other university staff are giving up their time to help frontline services in the national effort against the coronavirus pandemic - including as an NHS Volunteer and a Special Constable.

The NHS received around 750,000 applicants from the call for Volunteer Responders in March. Dan Rowe, a caretaker from Estates and Campus Services, was one and was verified by the Royal Volunteering Service at the beginning of April.

Dan has already logged several hundred hours on duty, taking calls from patients to make sure they’re okay and transporting medication between hospitals and pharmacies.

Stuart Graves, a Service Delivery Manager for Information Services, originally started volunteering for the police in 2000 as a Special Constable. He would normally have been working with the Response and Patrol team in Portsmouth, responding to 999 calls across the city - but due to the pandemic he’s now been reassigned to the Southsea Neighbourhood Team.

The team carries out high visibility patrols to reassure the community and assist with social distancing measures, to reduce the spread of coronavirus and relieve pressure on the NHS.

Student Jigar helps to feed NHS staff

Jigar Patel, a student in the university’s Faculty of Business and Law, is helping to make essential food parcels for NHS staff around London.

Working as part of his brother’s charity foundation, Jigar is making and packing the parcels at his brother’s restaurant, Desi Dhaba.

They started off making 50 meals a day, but the demand for the parcels has been so great they have had to employ a team of around 20 volunteers.

With further support from local Indian community trusts in the capital, they now make between 1,500 to 2,000 parcels every day.

Jigar said: ‘Our vision is to help doctors, nurses and other health and care staff who are vital to the community. We are also serving vulnerable people who need the food in this crucial time, like those who are homeless and older people in care homes.’