Nissan makes 500K protective aprons for healthcare frontliners

MANILA: Nissan Sunderland has completed the manufacture of 500,000 protective aprons to aid frontline healthcare workers in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, and has turned these over to the HMP Northumberland last July 23.

A solid team of 57 staff volunteers at the plant has produced personal protective equipment (PPE) in less than three months. They have been delivered to over 100 health care homes and care trusts across the North East region.

Vice President of Manufacturing at Nissan Alan Johnson stated that the production of over half a million protective aprons in a short timeframe exhibits the commitment, inventiveness, and skill of the team at the facility.

As both manufacturing lines have resumed operations at the facility, the group also shared their skills and provided the equipment to a team of 15 residents and staff at the prison, which is situated in Acklington, Northumberland. Once everything is in place, the prison group aims to initially generate 40,000 protective aprons weekly.

Nissan has been manufacturing aprons since April 2020 in compliance with the request of the Royal College of Nursing and Unite for UK producers to assist in the exceptional demand for PPE.

With this, a group of staff volunteers only took about eight days to construct and design a process onsite for the production of plastic aprons.

Director at HMP Northumberland Samantha Pariser added that both Sodexo Justice and HMP Northumberland are grateful to take over the said initiative from Nissan, as a way of giving back to the regional and local NHS Trusts and care facilities.

Pariser also noted that this will help their residents in learning new skills, which will aid them when they have been released from prison, while also reducing the probability of reoffending.

The initiative was also done in line with the activity of the facility to assist in supplying visors to the NHS. Furthermore, a group of volunteers has formed a parts processing line for sorting out thousands of single visor components and arranging them in sets of 125 for direct shipping to the NHS, having over 370,000 units deployed.

Photos from Nissan

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