Hand washing machines 'making difference' in Gaza

Hand-operated washing machines developed by a team of engineers in Bristol are providing a “crucial” service in field hospitals in Gaza, according to a nurse working for a charity there.

The Washing Machine Project was the idea of former Bath University student Navjot Sawhney in 2018.

Mr Sawhney said he came up with the idea after seeing a neighbour struggling with handwashing in India, adding it was “completely overwhelming” the machines were now being used in Gaza.

Nurse Mandy Blackman, from charity UK-Med, who is in Gaza, said the machines were making a big difference in the prevention and control of infection.

The company has a research and development team of six engineers in Bristol working on the machines, which are designed to be much easier than washing clothes by hand.

The rest of the team is based in Kings Cross, London.

They are also faster and save time, and have "positively impacted more than 30,000 lives [around the world], and counting," Mr Sawhney said.

“In Gaza, fuel is rationed so we have to be very careful and monitor our generators. Even down to when we can boil a kettle," Ms Blackman added.

“We’re treating patients for anything from explosive injuries to hernia repairs," she said, adding that "due to the conditions" there, "having the ability to wash the sheets and wash the uniform is crucial".

She also said they had very heavy traditional blankets that fitted well into the washing machines.

"It makes an incredible difference to know we’re going to get all our linen and scrubs clean, especially when we know we’re going to have a power outage."

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