Teacher makes face masks for ‘desperate’ health workers

THE head of technology at an Omagh school has been making much-needed face masks at home after witnessing at first hand how “desperate” local health care workers are for Personal Protection Equipment (PPE).

Killyclogher woman Una Doherty, who works at Christian Brothers Grammar School, has produced dozens of the protective masks – with a little help from daughters Caitlin (8), Maisie (6) and three-year-old Emma!

The bulk of the material used to make the vital equipment has come from her school, but Una has also received a generous donation of a special flexible plastic she needed from local business, Signal Signs.

So far, the teacher has donated 40 masks to Omagh GPs, 30 to the maternity unit at Altnagelvin Hospital, 30 to the South West Acute Hospital and a further 30 to Harold McCauley nursing home in Omagh.

Una said, “I contacted my principal, Foncy McConnell,  about any PPE equipment we had in the school that might be useful, such as safety glasses and the like. I know that some of the science departments had contacted him as well.

“I went into school with some of the support staff last week and we gathered them up and took them out to the Omagh Hospital. When I was there, that’s when I realised how desperate they were for anything in the form of protection. That’s what made me think I could actually make something that could be helpful.”

Being head of technology, Una was aware of what materials were in the school.

She was able to get most of what she needed, apart from one piece that she didn’t have any suitable material for.

She said, “I contacted Conor O’Neill at Signal Signs and told him I needed something for the inside headband, which goes against the person’s forehead. He suggested we use plastazote, which is tough and flexible.

“I asked him for 80 strips, but he made me 160. He was brilliant and very eager to help.”

The mother-of-three described actually making the masks as “therapeutic”.

“I quite like it. Being a teacher you never get to do it yourself, you’re always teaching. It’s therapeutic and even my kids are able to help.

“To them, it’s the best science project that they’ve had to do. It’s home-schooling, but a wee bit different. They’ve probably learnt more than if we were doing it the traditional way,” she said.

Una is also aware of plenty of colleagues from other local schools who are also making PPE for healthcare workers.

She added, “Technology teachers are problem solvers. It’s very hard to sit back. There’s very little we can do, so this is something we can use our skills for.”

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