The Royal Mint has announced it will be manufacturing nearly two million medical visors to help protect NHS staff working on the frontline amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Last month, the organisation, which is more commonly known for making coins, decided to produce the visors after searching online to see what medical equipment it could easily create.
After settling on visors, the Royal Mint’s high specification prototype was approved in two days and it set an initial target of producing 4,000 visors a day.
However, after transforming its visitor attraction site in Llantrisant, South Wales, into a production site that is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the Royal Mint has been producing more than 100,000 medical visors per week.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who is also Master of the Mint, said: “It’s vital our brave NHS workers have the protective equipment they need to safely care for those affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
“I applaud the Royal Mint for refocusing their efforts and working around the clock to play their part during this national emergency.”
Companies including Brammer, TJ Morgan and Technical Foam Services have worked with the Royal Mint to source the components needed to create the visors.
In addition to producing medical visors, the Royal Mint has worked closely with the NHS to provide other support, including helping to design and print Covid-19 awareness cards for staff at the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board.
Anne Jessopp, chief executive of the Royal Mint, added: “We want to play our part in the fight against coronavirus by providing NHS staff with the protective equipment they need to keep the nation and themselves safe.
“When people think of the Royal Mint, they think about the coins in their pockets, but we’ve been making useful products for the nation for 1,100 years and have a team of skilled designers, engineers and production staff.
“Together they turned a rudimentary visor design into a working model in just 48 hours, and within a week we were manufacturing thousands per day.”
The news comes as the Government continues to face criticism over the lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) available to NHS workers.
According to the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), a third of physicians working in high-risk settings have reported running short of long-sleeved gowns or full-face visors – a situation that has “worsened over the past three weeks”.
The RCP added that, of those working in other hospital areas, 40 per cent are not always equipped with eye protection, while 15.5 per cent are sometimes left without fluid-repellent face masks.
