University of Hull receives vital PPE donations for NHS staff from Chinese partner organisations

Lifesaving face masks to protect NHS staff across East Yorkshire from COVID-19 have been donated by Chinese partners of the University of Hull.

Around 2,000 masks have so far been supplied by both international alumni and the University’s partner institute in Yangzhou, China, with more set to arrive.

Deliveries of the vital face masks have been coordinated through Hull Alumni, the University’s Chinese student council and several departments, before being distributed to hospitals in Hull and Cottingham.

Dr Amanda Lee, Associate Dean International at the University of Hull, said: “The University has strong links with a variety of organisations in China, including a healthcare collaboration with the University of Yangzhou in the Jiangsu province of China.

“We have numerous alumni across China thanks to our provisions in the Faculty of Business, Law and Politics – as well as the English language programmes taught through the Faculty of Arts, Culture and Education – and they all wanted to help. 

“When they heard about the UK Coronavirus crisis and the increased demands for protective equipment and face masks, our partners got in touch and asked what they could do to help.

“Personal Protective Equipment – when used appropriately – is lifesaving. It protects our patients and our staff when they deliver care in frontline services across the region. We are incredibly grateful for the support from our colleagues and friends in China as we all join in the fight against this virus.”

Two parcels of face masks – totalling almost 900 pieces of equipment - have so far been donated by Yangzhou University and its affiliated hospitals in the Jiangsu province of China.

More than 1,000 masks –have also been donated by alumni of the University, and the University of Hull’s China office.

All deliveries have been coordinated through Hull Alumni and the University’s Chinese student council, along with the Faculty for Business, Law and Politics, PVCI and the Academic Partnerships office.

Dr Lee has been accepting the packages on behalf of the University, and transporting masks to the Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

The lifesaving donations will help protect frontline workers in hospitals including Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital from COVID-19.

Further deliveries of masks and PPE equipment are scheduled to be delivered from the University’s partners in China in the coming weeks.

It comes as teams at the University of Hull work around-the-clock to support NHS staff and key workers in these challenging conditions.

A team of engineers at the University are currently laser-cutting up to 5,000 face shields a day.

The new designs, which are aligned to mass production and take just minutes to make, will be shared nationally to enable production in other regions, maximising the UK’s supply of urgently-needed face shields for the NHS and healthcare organisations to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

A crowd-funding campaign led by the University’s alumni team has so far raised more than £20,000, as the community rallies behind the project.

Elsewhere, vital re-training for former NHS staff returning to work to help fight COVID-19 is being provided by the University, as final-year nursing and midwifery students are also poised to support the NHS.

Some staff from the Faculty of Health Sciences have already returned to clinical practice across NHS trusts and vital services, to assist with training, education and delivery of care at this crucial time.