Jona, 14, Louth

The issue which Jona has chosen to tackle was brought to her attention by her Mother, who works as a nurse in a hospital. Like so many frontline workers, Jona’s Mother was having to wear PPE (personal protective equipment) very regularly and was finding it extremely uncomfortable and hot.

Jona wanted to come up with a way to help her Mother and her colleagues and all healthcare staff. 

Her idea for the Open Call to Teenagers is a scrub suit that goes underneath the PPE to help maintain a comfortable body temperature. It will have a cooling system inside the scrubs which are worn underneath the gowns, which will help to regulate temperature.

Healthcare workers can sometimes wear these gowns for an entire shift at work, and they can become hot underneath and uncomfortable, making their work more difficult. 

As nurses like Jona’s Mother spend their day caring for others, Jona wanted to help care for them. She believes that this garment would not only be useful now during the current pandemic but would be a long lasting addition to a healthcare workers uniform in the future.

Jona’s Mother and her colleagues have all agreed that the scrub suit would be a huge help to them and they would love to see it made.

Do you have an idea you’d like to submit?