NHS Lothian and InnoScot Health have united to support the environmental ambitions behind newly designed scrubs that enable partners to provide vital skin-to-skin contact with their newborns after a caesarean section.
As part of this collaborative effort, upcycling stations have been introduced at St John’s Hospital in Livingston, encouraging staff to donate used NHS fleeces. These garments are then repurposed to create more Cozy Cuddle Scrubs (by Stacey).
The special theatre scrubs allow newborns to nestle inside, regulating their heart rate and breathing, as well as assisting with immediate bonding, while the surgical team focus on the mum and the completion of the procedure.
The idea from Elective Section Midwife, Stacey Boyle, and Senior Charge Midwife, Marianne Hay of NHS Lothian, was developed alongside the health board’s Research and Development team, ACCORD, with formal NHS partner InnoScot Health assisting in protecting, registering the design and supporting manufacture.
The teams have worked together to produce an eye-catching upcycling box, encouraging staff to drop off their used fleece jackets in three prominent places throughout the hospital, in turn allowing the garments to be re-employed for addition to further new scrubs. The scrubs also have been designed to be washed in routine hospital laundry, in line with NHS infection control measures.
Regulatory Project Manager at InnoScot Health, Paula Sweeten said: “Helping this wonderful project come to fruition as part of a close-knit team of like-minded people has been very exciting, and we’re delighted at the innovative outcome.
“It’s meant that Cozy Cuddle Scrubs (by Stacey) are now well-placed to become more widely available through the support of a manufacturing partner, potentially allowing them to reach more hospitals and improving outcomes further afield.
“Before the scrubs were introduced, newborns were often placed on the chest of birthing partners and covered with blankets or towels. That did not always effectively retain warmth, meaning babies were at risk of having to be admitted to special care.
“Inherent in the scrubs’ design for optimal warmth retention was a real sustainable, reusable element and it’s great that we’ve now managed to take that a step further with very visible upcycling boxes to tell staff that they can make an important contribution by donating something they no longer need.”
Jenni Semple, Soft Facilities Area Manager, St John's Hospital, said: “It is vital that we support our own innovations, and so we’ve been pleased to welcome the introduction of these fleece upcycling points, encouraging all to turn idea into action.
“The scrubs were already a real collective endeavour, including the help of the hospital’s sewing team, and this now extends that effort to further staff members. We’re so proud of Marianne and Stacey and hope that more staff can now get involved in providing the scrubs’ raw materials.
“This will make a valued contribution to the labour ward and wider sustainability aims – not just for NHS Lothian but for NHS Scotland’s targeting of net zero emissions by 2040.”
