Royal Navy makes 200 face shields for Portsmouth's NHS staff
ENGINEERS from the Royal Navy have been playing their part in combatting concerns over a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Staff at HMNB Portsmouth have been working around the clock to build face shields for front line of the coronavirus effort.
The team of around 50 engineers has gathered 3D printers from neighbouring training establishments HMS Sultan and HMS Collingwood, in Gosport and Fareham respectively.
So far, more than 1,200 headbands and 200 completed face shields have been delivered to St Mary's Treatment Centre in Portsmouth and HMS Sultan's medical wing.
The officer in charge of the maintenance support unit, Lieutenant Andrew Clayton, said: ‘Everyone in the MSU is really motivated to support the front line in the fight against coronavirus, and we’ve found a way of doing that with machines which would normally be producing parts for warships or their helicopters.
‘We’ve been fortunate to have the expertise of their usual operators to rely on.’
In total, the Royal Navy is using five printers, with machine taking about six hours to produce eight headbands.
The maintenance support unit personnel are working shift patterns, so that there is always someone working to monitor the progress.
Captain of engineering for the surface flotilla, Captain Camilla Meek, said: ‘These deliveries of PPE to our frontline care workers will, in a small way, help them in their vital work.
‘We should all be doing whatever we can to support the nation in these difficult times, and by applying technology and skills, together with hard work, Royal Navy engineers in Portsmouth are making a difference.’