ICU Scrub Up For Christmas

Bradford hospital staff working in intensive care have been scrubbing up especially for the festive season.

Bradford Royal Infirmary’s ICU teams have swapped their usual blue uniform tops for ones depicting a whole range of Christmas icons including jolly Santas, reindeers, gingerbread men and even Christmas puddings.

Marianne Downey, Matron for Critical Care, explained that the idea came about to bring some festive spirit onto the wards for patients.

She said:
“We knew that this year because of COVID-19 we wouldn’t be able to decorate the wards for our patients in our usual way so we decided to decorate ourselves and make the staff look festive instead.

“Consultants and nursing staff began a collection and we bought the fabric from Bombay Stores in Bradford. We bought more than 150 metres of fabric altogether in lots of really bright and jolly Christmas designs and colours,” she said.

Two teams of experienced sewers from the Yorkshire Scrub Hub, based at Moortown Rugby Club, Leeds and Idle Community Centre got busy making up the tops, which ICU staff will now be able to wear year after year.

“We are really grateful to Bombay Stores for looking after us so well and giving us a discount plus of course all the fantastic sewers who donated so much of their time. The Christmas scrubs look great and we are getting some lovely comments, she added.