EAST Ayrshire Council has donated material that can be used to make protective face visors for NHS staff on the frontline of coronavirus.

Nurses and doctors treating sick kids at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow now have an added layer of safety against COVID-19 after EAC donated 900 acetate sheets.

Technicians at the hospital made an urgent appeal to the public through Clyde One on Wednesday, March 25 asking for donations of 1/2mm thick acetate sheets to make face visors for frontline workers.

Maureen Boyle, admin assistant at East Ayrshire Council, said: “We’re currently working from home just now and when I saw the appeal from the hospital in Glasgow asking for donations of A4 acetate sheets to make face visors I knew we had some in stock. So I contacted them and offered 900. They accepted that and I arranged to get them delivered.”

Acetate sheets are thick, clear plastic sheets normally used as a protective shield. Royal Hospital technicians will adapt them to make the face visors.

Maureen said: “The appeal will help hospitals all throughout the country so any little thing we can do to help is worth it. Obviously we’re not frontline staff so we don’t need these resources at the moment so it’s important to put them to good use.”

An NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde spokesperson said: “These acts by our staff are well intentioned and we are extremely grateful to those organisations who are offering a range of support to our health and social care workers.

“There is a lot of goodwill at this extremely challenging time and we are overwhelmed by people’s generosity.

“However, it is important that any equipment has been properly tested and approved. We already have an established process for sourcing appropriate equipment and we work closely with Scottish Government and National Procurement.

“We continue to strive to get Personal Protective Equipment to the right staff in the right quantities at the right time.”

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