Eye teacher produces face masks for NHS workers

A design and technology teacher in Eye has been putting her time off to good use by making vital equipment for front-line key workers tackling coronavirus.

Emma Thompson, who teaches at Hartismere School, has been using a laser cutter to produce face visors for NHS staff and care home workers in the area.

The high school teacher has produced more than 85 visors since starting two weeks ago.

Ms Thompson said: “It was sort of an instinct to make the visors, because there’s a problem that needs to be solved.

“It’s was a slow process at the beginning, but now I’ve got it sussed.”

So far, she has donated masks to Eye Medical Centre, and a number of local care homes, including Hartismere Place in Eye.

The visors, which have been rigorously tested, are made to specifications provided by the NHS, which has been in desperate need of personal protective equipment (PPE) since the outbreak of the virus.

Ms Thompson cuts A4 sheets of acetate, using a 10-year-old laser cutter at Hartismere School, to make the visors, which then have headbands made of polyethylene attached to them.

Despite not being as effective as face masks – which cover the mouth – the visors still go a long way to preventing the spread of coronavirus.

Ms Thompson said: “There’s been a lot of discussion about the visors, but, the fact is, in the absence of approved kit, anything that does the job will do.”

A former teacher at Thomas Mills High School in Framlingham, where she used to teach Grammy Award winner Ed Sheeran, Ms Thompson added that she is not the only DT teacher in the area producing the masks, and hopes that her efforts will bring some much-needed appreciation for her department as a whole. “A lot of design and technology teachers are doing this without any resources,” she said.

“DT departments can be really undervalued sometimes, so it’s really lovely that they’re doing this.”