Nail tech turns her hand to building NHS ventilators during pandemic

From crafting nail styles to building ventilators: Holly Sutherland put her time away from the nail desk to excellent use when she responded to an advert by Ford Cars.

The founder of Nails by Holly in Thurrock, Essex, found herself out of work from mid-March to July when the coronavirus pandemic put a halt on her daily nail business. Rather than rest on her laurels, she embraced the opportunity to help those affected by the virus.

“In November 2019, I left a stable job in central London to become a full time gel nail tech,” Holly reveals. “I worked long and hard to build my client base and was booked up several weeks in advance. The business was doing so well – and then coronavirus ensued.

“Like many others, I felt like the bottom had fallen out of my world. I asked myself ‘what was I going to do if I was unable to work?’ I wasn’t eligible for much help from the government as I was only newly established and I didn’t have a lot of savings, so I knew I had to find a job.”

Holly spotted an advert on Facebook to work on a production line for Ford Cars, building ventilators for the NHS in response to the pandemic as part of the Ventilator Challenge UK. 

“The application involved a test and online videos in response to some interview questions. I was offered a role and invited to attend an induction.

“I had no idea what to expect as we were only four weeks into lockdown so there were a number of restrictions, however health & safety measures were well implemented.”

Seated with Ford staff and agency workers two metres apart with masks on, Holly was informed of her shift patterns. “Night shifts were tough and I felt permanently jet lagged, but the camaraderie of my new colleagues helped me through,” she continues.

“The entire setup had been built inside the empty Ford warehouse in Dagenham in just three weeks. There were around 200 people on site at one time and it was busy, noisy and an environment I had never experienced before.

“Each workstation was blocked off so that social distancing rules could be followed. I was put on a testing station and trained at my bay and given written instructions I needed to follow each time a unit was placed in front of me from the previous station. I was so scared I would not be able to pick up the tests I was given but after a couple of units I was confident in what I was doing.

“As the equipment was tested, beeps and whooshes from the ventilators could be heard. One of the testing stations had big iron cylinders filled with wire wool and I learned that they were artificial lungs, which was incredible to see.

“Seeing the ventilators in various states of production and testing really brought it home how much goes into just one unit being built. We were going to build thousands!”

The Blue Shift station 13 team with the last ventilator assembled at Ford, Dagenham.

Holly was at the end of the production line, and her role involved checking the unit for cosmetic damage, applying final serial numbers and checking that all other serial numbers matched the paperwork.

“Before I got the job, I spent my time immerse in news and the daily coronavirus briefing and surfed social media for much of the day. I sank into a miserable hole; worried about the safety of my family, friends, my business, money and my mortgage. The uncertainty of it all was so scary, and the job at the factory helped me out in more ways than one. 

“As the project came to an end, I found myself overcome with emotion,” Holly reveals. “My dad and my aunt, who both had found themselves out of work due to the pandemic, also worked at the factory and I felt like we had been a part of something huge; something reactive and helpful. I feel so proud to say we worked there and that we helped the country during such a scary time.

“Now I’m back to working in nails, I am facing new challenges, but I have a new found respect for my time, family and money.

“I really feel fortunate that I am able to say that my life has been enriched by lockdown. I’ve truly learned so much.”

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