A REDDITCH man is producing vital pieces of personal protection equipment (PPE) – from a flat above a pub in Wolverhampton.
Stuart Barnwell moved in with his partner Kevin Tonry after his parents, who live in Church Hill, were declared high risk and needed to self-isolate.
From there the former Arrow Vale High School student, who reckons he was one of the first the be born at the Alexandra Hospital, has been churning out PPE visors and their mounts for health professionals for free.
“We’ve just been trying to do our bit and get the word out there,” said the IT business consultant who has appeared on the hit TV show Robot Wars.
“We’ve already shipped more than 1,800 to GPs, to hospitals in Hereford, Coventry, Warwick, New Cross, pharmacies, care homes and Wolverhampton City Council.
“These are only costing us between 30p to 50p each to make in materials and depending on shipping costs, obviously time and electrics bill are at our own cost, bit it’s the least we can do.
“We even quickly purchased another 3D printer to help keep up with demand and at the moment we could do with another one.”
Stuart’s set up a Go Fund Me page which has already smashed its £1,500 target.
“I translate it as like a cup of coffee,” he said.
“We can’t go out for a coffee at the moment but the price of a coffee can make all the difference to a GP surgery or a care home, it’s that simple.”
All funds raised go to buy the plastic raw materials and cover shipping costs.
“We will keep printing and supplying as long as it’s needed,” said Stuart.
To make a donation, visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/face-shields-for-nhs-key-workers
