A TOTAL of 1,000 masks created at Bradford College using a 3D printer have now been delivered to frontline staff at Bradford Royal Infirmary and other healthcare providers.
Zaid Bashir, Technology and Media Manager at Bradford College, has created the masks to help protect NHS staff.
Zaid began researching ways of creating personal protective equipment last month using the college’s 3D printers as well as other raw materials he could source from within the building.
He said: “Although 3D printing in industry is mostly used for prototyping new products, I soon came to realise that as part of a larger national community we could try and support our NHS staff by helping them protect themselves at a time of crisis, as they are selflessly looking after so many of us.”
Zaid and Bradford College staff have created a video showing how a 3D printer creates a mask.
While the majority of masks have been delivered to Bradford Royal Infirmary, others have been delivered to GP surgeries and clinics across the region, including:
- West Riding and Craven Diabetic eye screening programme
- Norman Lodge Care Home, Bradford
- Fountains Medical Centre, Leeds
- Garrison Medical Centre, York
Dr Bryan Gill, Chief Medical Officer of Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The support and generosity shown to our staff and our Trust during this pandemic has been truly heart-warming, and Zaid’s innovation in creating these masks is one example of this.
“We are indebted to him and his colleagues at Bradford College and would like to say a huge thank you to them. The Trust has always enjoyed a special relationship with Bradford College and this act of kindness further cements that relationship.”
Olwen Hall, a care worker at Norman Lodge Care Home, Bradford, said: “Thank you so much for the visors. They are much appreciated. We will all be forever grateful.”