Mr. Gareth Higgins, Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon and Clinical Senior Lecturer, collaborated with a local dressmaker Colette McGrath as well as a sail maker Richard Marshall to create a durable, washable gown.
In his position at University Hospital Waterford, Mr. Higgins is a surgical trainer and also is involved in teaching of medical students from RCSI.
He told WLR NEWS
"Initially I asked them to make a batch, Richard Marshall had a machine that he could cut panels for Colette McGrath, so they made a batch of 100.
They were so ideal, they are light, they are much more robust than the paper gowns that we have and they feel very protective, so once I had them
I realised that this is absolutely ideal and they can be re-washed. The management were very much behind me and very interested so we managed
to get an initial batch of three thousand made up for the hospital.
Mr. Gareth Higgins says it makes sense to make what's needed locally.
"I think long term, for everything, we are going to have to re-examine these really long supply chains, even if it is more expensive, if it can be produced locally, it can be
scaled up. From a security health point of view I think it is a better idea to have re-usable kit and also have short supply lines."
Mr. Gareth Higgins says reusable gowns are not a new idea.
"The quality of the gown produced by Colette and Richard made it very easy to see that this was the way to go, especially in terms of some of the quality of the gowns that have come in from China had been a bit mixed, in terms of sizes and the quality of the materials. At least we knew we had the guaranteed quality product and also re-usability means that it's just a question of how quickly you can launder them and get them back on the floor."
