The last year has been extremely testing for our healthcare industry, even more so than normal, and recent months have been no exception. Covid-19 is an ever changing entity and with winter being a busy time for our hospitals due to increased admissions of patients with the flu and viruses anyway, this winter the pressure has been full on with the addition of Covid cases.
What’s been announced to help with this?
Firstly, North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust announced at the end of January that they’ve created a new support role recruiting 65 “team support workers” on six month temporary contracts. The pressures of Covid has led to the trust reaching out to their local community for an “extra pair of hands” to help alleviate the pressure on their NHS staff. Should this work to ease the pressure off North Tees and Hartlepool, it’s possible that other trusts around the country could consider turning to their own local communities.
Secondly, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has confirmed that the emergency standards which were withdrawn in September 2020 and replaced with the recovery standards will now be brought back in order to enable final year students respond to the call for help by being given paid clinical placements. Many of the final year students who step up for this would have also helped out in the first lockdown when they were second years, therefore it is key to keep any disruption to their learning at a minimum. The chief executive and registrar for the NMC, Andrea Sutcliffe, said “The changes we’ve made today will enable students to continue learning, while at the same time, allowing those student nurses in their final year to contribute to the fight against Covid-19 where they wish to.”
What does this mean for Meltemi?
As well as recruiting members of the local community for this new support role, North Tees and Hartlepool NHS have said they hope to “organically move into more permanent available roles within the trust” after the six month contracts end. On top of this, Mike Adams who is the Royal College of Nursing director for England warned that student nurses needed to be given “the same rights and protection as all other frontline workers”. The combination of these new recruits, the possibility of them becoming part of the trust long-term and the call for final year students, increases the number of healthcare workers who require uniforms.
At Meltemi, we’ve been extremely proud to support our national healthcare trusts throughout the last year and ensure teams are equipped with the correct uniform that is comfortable and durable in order to carry out their job role to maximum efficiency. Here’s what our General Manager Greg Houlston had to say on our role throughout this pandemic: “With the uncertainty of Covid-19 in the UK, our healthcare industry is having to react to uniform demand in shorter lead-times than previously seen. At Meltemi we have a wide range of stock backed styles in multiple colours and large size ranges to help cope with the quick requirements. With a dedicated supply chain team monitoring the demand and ensuring that we have the right profile of stock we have high availability on our bestselling lines, ready to deliver when you are.”
Which of our healthcare uniforms have been in demand?
Scrubs have been a core item for our customers over the last year during the pandemic due to their comfort, easy fit and lightweight nature allowing room and flexibility for the extra PPE items that now have to be worn over the top of uniforms. Here are some of the key garments bought and worn by our healthcare industry, including items from our new headwear range:
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Unisex Smart Scrub Tunic - £16.74 - https://www.meltemi.co.uk/unisex-smart-scrub-tunic
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Unisex Essential Scrub Tunic - £16.80 - https://www.meltemi.co.uk/unisex-scrub-tunic
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Unisex Smart Scrub Trousers - £20.14 - https://www.meltemi.co.uk/unisex-smart-scrub-trousers
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Elasticated Back Theatre Cap - £3.59 - https://www.meltemi.co.uk/elasticated-back-theatre-cap-2
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Bouffant Hat - £5.99 - https://www.meltemi.co.uk/bouffant
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Hijab - £11.99 - https://www.meltemi.co.uk/hijab-2
With Monday’s announcement and the uncertainty as to how this will impact the number of cases we’re currently seeing, the extra pair of hands and support from this new role and last year students may be needed now more than ever to keep on top of the mounting pressures that our healthcare industry are facing.
We will continue to aid our frontline workers where we can to help in the fight. If you’re looking to replace your nurses uniforms, browse our range online today or call a member of our team on 01603 731330 to discuss your requirements.
