Facemask donation from China benefits Derby nursing and healthcare students

A total of 10,000 protective facemasks have been donated to nursing and healthcare students in Derby to help replace the stocks which the city’s University gave to local hospitals at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

Thousands of items of personal protective equipment (PPE), which would have been used by students, were delivered by University staff to the Royal Derby Hospital and Chesterfield Royal Hospital in March and April.

Now, one of the University’s overseas partner institutions, Hunan University of Technology, in China, has helped to replenish supplies in Derby by sending the consignment of facemasks.

Dr Paula Holt, Pro Vice Chancellor Dean of the College of Health and Social Care, said: “This is an extremely generous gesture from our colleagues in Hunan, who were aware that we had supplied our PPE to local hospitals. It will help our students during their training, much more of which will be on campus in the coming months, while our NHS partners focus on managing COVID-19 in our hospitals.

“The donation also underlines the value of international co-operation between higher education institutions, and we look forward to a time when we are able to welcome representatives from Hunan to Derby to thank them personally.”

Hunan University of Technology, based in the Hubei Province of China, became one of Derby’s partner universities in 2018. Since then it has worked closely with the University of Derby on student exchange, student progression and teacher training.

The facemask donation was organised by the university’s Chancellor, Professor Yang Liu and his senior management team.

Professor Liu said: “Our hearts are with everyone at Derby, and we hope that all of our friends and colleagues at the University stay safe.”

To find out more about the University’s partnerships with other institutions in the UK and overseas, visit our website https://www.derby.ac.uk/partnerships/