Central England Co-op has donated almost 2,500 cotton bags to nurses on standby to work on the frontline at the NHS Nightingale Hospital in Birmingham.
The bags will allow healthcare workers who may be deployed to support the hospital to place their uniforms in the bags and straight into the wash when they get home.
The retailer made the donation after a colleague at their Lichfield headquarters was approached by a friend to support Marie Curie Nurses who were set to be deployed to the hospital.
“One of my friend’s has a family member who works at Marie Curie and they had asked about the possibility of getting hold of some cotton bags that our stores had previously sold,” said Jody Meakin, marketing communications assistant at CE Co-op.
“They were perfect as they are washable, so the nurses can put their uniform in them each night and put them straight in to the wash when they get home. I got hold of 240 bags and these have gone out to the Marie Curie Nurses as part of their Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits.
The retailer then decided to look into getting more of the bags out to staff at the Nightingale Hospital, which has been built at the NEC Birmingham to care for COVID-19 patients from across the Midlands.
CE Co-op’s partners APS Group covered the delivery costs, showing their support to the cause.
The retailer has earlier announced a 10 percent discount for all NHS workers on all food and other essentials. They will also be able to get priority access to the stores by moving to the front of any external queue when waiting to enter.
