Northumbria Healthcare Manufacturing and Innovation Hub partners with Warwick Med to enhance patient safety and reduce patient anxiety

The Manufacturing and Innovation Hub, which is part of Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has partnered with Warwick Med to manufacture reusable and personalised theatre hats to improve patient safety and reduce anxiety.

Warwick Med is dedicated to improving healthcare environments for both patients and staff. Their mission is to help hospital theatres make the transition from disposable theatre caps to reusable high-quality fabric hats that feature a removable badge on the front of the hat which displays the healthcare professional’s name and their job title.

The idea for the badges came from Danielle Checketts who is the managing director of Warwick Med. Danielle, who is a former nurse, found that when training in an operating theatre she was asked to write her name and role onto her disposable theatre hat so that she could be identified by staff and the patient being operated on. Danielle was inspired by the idea and found there was a gap in the market for companies offering latex-free, personalised theatre hats, Danielle then developed the innovation of attaching badges to the theatre hats, which is an alternative to embroidery.

These badges are made from durable polyurethane, which can be easily cleaned and decontaminated after use, supporting high hygiene standards.  Also, the badges have undergone rigorous testing to support safety requirements.

Talking about the driving force behind the idea, Danielle said: “As both a former nurse and patient, I understand deeply the importance of clear communication in reducing patient anxiety. These hats are more than an innovation; they are about bringing humanity back into our healthcare interactions.”

The Northumbria Healthcare Manufacturing and Innovation Hub partnered with Warwick Med in 2023 to manufacture the reusable theatre hats. Product development manager, Michelle Triplow-Jones said; “We’re really pleased to be working with Danielle and the team at Warwick Med to produce the reusable theatre hats. We know that a hospital can be an intimidating place for patients and these hats are a fantastic way to put patients at ease and to improve their experience in hospital.”

An average 20-theatre hospital usually disposes of around 100,000 caps per year, most of which go to landfill, and some are incinerated, which poses lots of risks to the environment. These theatre caps can be taken home to be washed and reused and hats last for approximately 3 years, ultimately improving sustainability within healthcare.

Media contact 

Emily Lavin, marketing and communications officer 

emily.lavin@northumbria-healthcare.nhs.uk or 07887985929