Rallying round to produce vital PPE to key workers

Businesses and individuals in South Yorkshire have come together to help fund a wonderful initiative that is producing protective visors to help NHS staff and key workers stay safe during these difficult times.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The challenges of acquiring and supplying PPE are currently headline news and the NHSs shortage very well documented. Many businesses, organisations, and individuals across the UK have mobilised to try and help meet the NHS's need, whether that is through PPE production, deliveries, or fundraising. A growing cottage industry that has sprung up is the 3-D printing of protective visors. With enterprising individuals across the UK creating thousands of face visors from their own homes to try and help keep key workers safe.

In South Yorkshire, there is one such initiative that local businesses and many individuals have chosen to support. The initiative in question is 3D printed Face Shields, a Facebook fundraising page that was set up by Alex Southall to produce face visors for key workers.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Alex first set up his Facebook page with the aim of raising enough money to produce just a couple of hundred visors to try and make a small contribution. After his initial Facebook post, funding and orders flooded in, demand was so high Alex had to purchase two additional printers to keep up.

Alex Southall who is producing face visors for key workersAlex Southall who is producing face visors for key workers
Alex Southall who is producing face visors for key workers

Alex says on his Facebook fundraising page: “I’m not making any profit on these, just printing and offering them out for free. This is in response to the global pandemic sweeping across our nation. I am doing my bit to hopefully help with this.”

Local organisations and business that have helped with Alex’s efforts include John Brailsford Printers, who donated 400 laminate sheets to help with the creation of the visors. John Brailsford said: “It is our pleasure to assist Alex with his very worthy efforts in helping the NHS. We were fortunate to have Alex with us on work placement and can see this time has paid off. Our business was not just built on printing services, but our support to our employees and the local community, we’re proud to be a part of Rotherham.” Another local organisation who have joined the initiative are, the Rotherham Round Table, who have purchased three of their own 3D printers and are currently helping to meet the production demand and drive fundraising efforts. Steven Reynard, Rotherham Round Table, said “It’s a great initiative, the Round Table just had to get involved and help in the efforts to support the local NHS.”

Local businesses that have helped with funding, include GP Surveyors. Chris Johnson, GP Surveyors Director said: “The GP Surveyors team has heard first-hand from local GP practice staff about the challenges they are faced with and we wanted to help in any way we could. We found out about Alex’s fantastic initiative through a contact at the Rotherham Round Table and wanted to contribute to help local practices get hold of the protective visors they desperately need.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

One such GP practice that has been helped is East Bank Medical Centre in Sheffield who recently received their protective face visors. Sharon Turner, Practice Manager said: “We are very grateful to Alex for his generosity in producing these, much needed protective visors. The visors will help keep my colleagues and our patients safe during these troubling times. Also, a big thanks to GP Surveyors for their contribution and delivering the visors.”

To date, Alex and his colleague Rikki Bedford have raised enough money to produce nearly 2,000 visors for the NHS, GPs, and keyworkers of South Yorkshire.

Starting with just one 3D printer and a will to help, thousands of keyworkers have received visors that keep them safe in these troubled times. Many organisations across South Yorkshire, including Rotherham Hospital and the Sheffield Health and Social Care Trust, have benefited from this wonderful initiative.

Sheffield Health and Social Care Trust wrote to Alex to express their thanks: “Thank you for the kind supply of visors for our staff… It is an unprecedented time in the NHS and the Kindness of your company has allowed staff to be provided with safe and adequate PPE in order to protect them and our patients.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

If you’re a key worker in South Yorkshire and require a visor or you’d like to help contribute towards Alex’s efforts his fundraising page can be found here: www.facebook.com/donate/552125832084605/.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to The Star website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.