Instax instant cameras are helping NHS frontline staff share a smile with patients from behind their PPE
04.06.2020
Across the UK, the challenge of personal protective equipment (PPE) means NHS frontline staff are struggling to show their patients a comforting smile. But Fujifilm have found an unexpected way to help - instax instant cameras. The company is helping share the smiles of NHS doctors and nurses working on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic and connect with patients through donating instant cameras to intensive care units across the country.
Left to right: [1-2] Healthcare workers at Florence Nightingale Group Hospitals, Turkey and [3] Azienda Socio-Sanitaria Territoriale (ASST) di Vimercate, Monza, Italy
NHS staff are facing unprecedent challenges in dealing with coronavirus, from intense demand on intensive care to new procedures and requirements to reduce infection. One of these challenges is the new requirements around PPE. Those working on the frontline in hospitals must put on gloves, gown, face mask, visor or air hoods before entering a hospital unit or caring for a patient - creating a full suit covering almost every feature. The coverings are not only restrictive and uncomfortable, but can muffle the voice as well as obscure the face, meaning that doctors and nurses treating patients have to obscure everything but their eyes.
This can make it difficult to reassure a patient, who cannot see a smile or a friendly face. PPE removes an important element of the personal connection that is usually so important between a clinician and patient. It can also heighten an already worrying and intimidating situation and make patients in ICU wards feel even more isolated.
For the clinicians themselves, not being able to see their colleagues, or show their own personalities, can also be difficult. There are many new faces on wards from nurses and doctors who would not usually work in ICU being redeployed. Faces are an important way to communicate but PPE removes this ability from frontline workers, with the potential to have a real impact on morale.
Fujifilm have been looking for ways to help those NHS teams searching for a solution to sharing their faces behind the PPE and came up with an unexpected solution - instant cameras. The company have been donating their instax instant cameras to intensive care units across the country, letting doctors or nurses take a photograph and quickly attach an instant photo print of themselves to their hospital gowns.
The initiative has seen frontline workers across the country use this quick and easy solution to show their patients a comforting smile, as well as their personality.
The initiative has so far seen cameras donated to 35 NHS Trusts across the country and has also gone international, with special packs of instax instant cameras donated to more than 50 hospitals across Europe in eight different countries.
Rachel Power, CEO of the Patients Association, said:
PPE is vitally important for both keeping patients and doctors safe and reassuring patients about their safety at a worrying time. But there's no doubt that masks can be a barrier between doctors and patients, or even transform a comforting presence into a disconcerting one. Having photos of the doctor without their mask is a simple but imaginative idea that should provide a lot of reassurance to patients who will be able to see the face behind the mask.
Neill Harris, General Manager, Fujifilm UK Photo Imaging said:
Donating instax cameras and film is just a small way in which Fujifilm is able to help - but to both NHS staff and patients, we've been told that by being able to easily show the friendly face behind the PPE, it can help bring comfort and understanding in the most difficult of situations.
Fujifilm want to expand this offer of help even more Trusts. The company are encouraging health teams on the frontline interested in receiving a special instax kit to contact comms_uk(at)fujifilm(dot)com
Files:
2020_share_instax-covid19_03.jpg (431 Kbyte)
Azienda_Socio-Sanitaria_Territoriale_ASST_di_Vimercate__Monza__Italy_1_03.jpg (1.26 Mbyte)
Istanbul_Florence_Nightingale_Hastanesi__Istanbul__Turkey_1_03.jpg (816 Kbyte)
Istanbul_Florence_Nightingale_Hastanesi__Istanbul__Turkey_2_03.jpg (1.12 Mbyte)
Istanbul_Florence_Nightingale_Hastanesi__Istanbul__Turkey_3_03.jpg (1.40 Mbyte)
Istanbul_Florence_Nightingale_Hastanesi__Istanbul__Turkey_4_03.jpg (1.13 Mbyte)
NHS_Western_General_Hospital__Edinburgh__UK_1_03.jpg (7.73 Mbyte)
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
January 8, 2024
Colorfront (colorfront.com), a leader in high-performance, on-s...
07/05/2026
February 9, 2024
Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-award-winning pioneer i...
07/05/2026
March 20, 2024
NAB 2024, Las Vegas - Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-awa...
07/05/2026
April 1, 2025
CINEMACON, APRIL 1, 2025 - Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-award-winning developer of high-performance dailies/transcoding/streaming syste...
07/05/2026
June 15, 2025
Colorfront (colorfront.com), an Academy and Emmy Award-winning de...
07/05/2026
June 15, 2025
Colorfront participated in the ICTA Barcelona Cinema Technology Summit on Sunday, June 15, 2025. Held at The Phenomena Experience, the event feat...
07/05/2026
July 1, 2025
Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-award-winning developer of high-performance dailies/transcoding/streaming systems for motion pictures, OTT,...
07/05/2026
July 1, 2025
Passion and dedication will take you places. Come with us on a short trip to the heart of India, where Annapurna Studios is living-up to the inspi...
07/05/2026
July 3, 2025
Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-award-winning developer of high-performance dailies/transcoding/streaming systems for motion pictures, OTT,...
07/05/2026
September 1, 2025
IBC 2025, Amsterdam - Colorfront (colorfront.com) - the Acade...
07/05/2026
April 17, 2026
LOS ANGELES - April 17, 2026 - Colorfront today announced Colorf...
07/05/2026
April 23, 2026
NAB 2026, Las Vegas - the Academy and Emmy Award-winning develop...
07/05/2026
Thursday 7 May 2026
Sky continues Sphere Abacus partnership with The Death of S...
07/05/2026
Thursday 7 May 2026
Sky Confirms Saturday Night Live UK will return this September for Series Two
Saturday Night Live UK will return for a second series, as S...
07/05/2026
Save 20% on the Sky Glass Gen 2 and Sky Glass Air TVsThursday 7 May 2026
How to watch the World Cup on Sky Glass
Tune into the World Cup on the BBC and ITV vi...
07/05/2026
Production sound mixer Dirk Sciarrotta has mixed Family Feud for 28 seasons. Thats up to 200 syndicated episodes per year, plus primetime celebrity specials - a...
07/05/2026
As audience expectations have evolved, Owen has stopped trying to hide microphones or excuse amplification. Instead, he treats sound as a fully immersive part o...
07/05/2026
Well known Irish faces pushed to the edge in new series of
Uncharted with Ray G...
07/05/2026
RT will premiere A Traveller Family, a compelling new documentary exploring the...
06/05/2026
New pricing tiers for vocal/dialogue restoration tool
NoiseWorks Audio's AI-powered vocal and dialogue processing plug-in is now available in three diff...
06/05/2026
Popular mixing & routing software overhauled
Following a recent public beta test, RME have launched the final release version of the powerful mixing and rou...
06/05/2026
New SOS Video Feature
Focusrites ISA C8X is a milestone product that brings together the companys analogue heritage and their expertise in digital audio. Yo...
06/05/2026
06 May 2026
VEON's Kyivstar Authorized to Resell Starlink for Businesses & ...
06/05/2026
UKTV has secured the exclusive rights to the early back catalogue of iconic Australian drama series Neighbours, following a landmark content deal with Fremantle...
06/05/2026
Wednesday 6 May 2026
Sky commissions feature documentary to mark 10th anniversa...
06/05/2026
Wednesday 6 May 2026
Sky and Formula 1 agree long-term partnership across UK, Ireland and Italy
Sky in the UK & Ireland to remain the home of Formula 1 until ...
06/05/2026
Sky Zero Footprint Fund-backed TV campaign launches nationwide, supported by new...
06/05/2026
Wuppertal May 6, 2026
Riedel Expands Leadership Structure, Appoints Marc Engro...
06/05/2026
SAN JOSE, Calif. - May 6, 2026 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced its latest broadband innovations for ANGA COM 2026, highlighting its vision for a new e...
06/05/2026
Statement from Rupert Murdoch, Chairman Emeritus, Fox Corporation on Ted Turner&...
06/05/2026
Friday 8 May on RT One and RT Player
Meet the NSPCA team caring for and protecting animals in need in this six-part series
Fly on the wall, six-part series...
05/05/2026
Experts from the world of academia, tech, business, politics and media convened for a Thomson Talks at the Cambridge Disinformation Summit in April. It's th...
Instax instant cameras are helping NHS frontline staff share a smile with patients from behind their PPE 
