10,000 Ricardo-assembled PPE face shields delivered to frontline NHS and care homes

As part of the national effort to supply Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) required by those working to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, Ricardo’s purpose-designed protective face shields have been delivered to front line healthcare workers across the Midlands and south of England

A total of 10,000 protective face shields designed, assembled and donated by Ricardo have now been delivered to front line NHS and healthcare workers in just over 100 NHS hospital trusts, care homes, nursing homes, GP surgeries and hospices across the Midlands and south of England.

Ricardo created the bespoke design for the face shields, working with local NHS doctors to ensure that the PPE provided enhanced comfort and wearability over extended periods. Tooling was sourced from and co-funded by longstanding supply chain partner Stephens Plastic Mouldings, and to ensure regulatory compliance Ricardo worked with industry-leading test provider SATRA to secure fast-tracked testing of its protective face shield to EN166 (a crucial requirement for the PPE to be NHS approved for Covid-19 emergency use).

To ensure that the face shields could reach care home and NHS staff as quickly as possible, the team repurposed facilities at Ricardo’s Technical Centres at Shoreham by Sea in West Sussex and Leamington Spa as assembly lines and logistics centres for this much-needed PPE.

Ankur Agrawal, administrative director for Radiant Care Ltd, operator of Harmony House Nursing Home in Southwick, West Sussex, said: “Thank you so much to your whole team for your kind donation of the face shields to the nursing home. As we all know, it is impossible for care homes to get hold of this product and for your team to make the effort to provide our staff with these has uplifted our morale and given the staff the security and confidence they have been looking for. The face shields continue to be used by the staff and have proven to be vital in helping to reduce the risk of infection spreading.

“I am incredibly grateful to you all for your kindness. It is difficult to put into words just how much of an impact this has for us. Please pass on my gratitude to the team. We won’t forget what you have done for us.”
 
Dave Shemmans, CEO of Ricardo plc said: “As Ricardo engineers, it is in our DNA to use our expertise to help make improvements or address challenges positively which help to create a world fit for the future. Around the middle of March when the Covid-19 pandemic began to escalate, we all felt that that we could be applying our engineering, design or manufacturing capability to help alleviate some of the challenges which were emerging.

“We are very proud to have been able to play a small part in protecting those in the front line at care homes and in the NHS, and it has been truly humbling to receive the warm and heart-felt feedback about our efforts to provide PPE to healthcare professionals in these absolutely crucial roles.”

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