#12DaysofHiddenHeroes: Lydia Agyapong
In the lead up to Christmas, we're shining a light on #12DaysofHiddenHeroes.
On the second day of the festive season, we meet Lydia Agyapong, a seamstress at The Royal London Hospital.
Lydia has been working as a seamstress at Barts Health for the past 16 years and seven of those years has been spent at The Royal London Hospital.
We caught up with her to find out more about her role, she said: “Me and my team in the sewing room are in charge of Barts Health uniforms. When new staff start, they come down to the sewing room with a form and we fit them with the uniform required. The uniform is made in different countries, but we alter them to fit the individual person.”
Lydia explained that every day is different at The Royal London, she said: “Even though we take care of the staff, we also alter the helipad crew’s red suits and bags. We do all the alternations to the textiles in the helicopter.
“When the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, we helped by creating PPE style uniform to help with the demand on the ground.”
We asked Lydia what her proudest patient moment was, she replied: “Three years ago the uniform company ran out of uniform, me and my team worked really hard together to give out uniforms to new starters after a big back log of forms.
“We were under a lot of pressure and this made me proud that we served the new starters well, and no one went without a uniform.”
December is a very special month for Lydia. Not only does she celebrate Christmas but it’s also her birthday, she shared: “I was planning to go to my brother’s house this Christmas, but due to the new Covid-19 variant we going to stay at home.
“Although it will just be me and my husband, we will still have a party! December is my perfect month, it’s Christmas and my birthday.”