Old hospital gowns made into octopus IV drip hooks

Olly the Octopus is made out of recycled hospital gowns and comes with his own app

Old hospital gowns are being turned into octopus shaped poles for intravenous (IV) drips, in the hope of cheering up child patients.

Product designer Florence Mitchell came up with the idea for Olly the Octopus when she was in the third year of her sustainable product design degree at Falmouth University in Cornwall.

The fully-recycled cartoon-style blue octopuses are made out of old polypropylene gowns from the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro.

She said she "felt like he needed to be engaging, not just be a static thing that stands in the corner, but to bring him to life a bit".

Florence Mitchell (right) made Olly the Octopus to be practical as well as appealing to children - it holds three times the weight of normal IV poles

'Comes to life'

Ms Mitchell got the idea after visiting the hospital and speaking to staff who identified that standard IV poles break easily.

"Once broken, they need to be completely thrown out and then bought again new", she said.

The octopuses also have an interactive element.

"I thought it would be awesome if we could make that into an app where 'Olly' comes to life.

"Not only in a way that he moves, but more interactively, where kids can take their medication with him and feed him and maybe we can bring an element into this where parents can also log on and see how their kids are doing in terms of their mood.

"So, it was something that could potentially relieve some of that anxiety for parents as well as making the experience for kids more engaging."

Other design considerations involved making it something that could be easily removed by staff on the wards, and making sure the weight could be taken by the poles.

Ms Mitchell said they are designed to hold three times more weight than standard IV hooks, with 10 tentacles representing NHS values.

'Outstanding product'

She now hopes to improve the product by making it more sustainable, and to develop it for wider use.

"I'd really love to see Olly in hospitals, if possible," she said.

Kelly Mengham, ward sister for the Gastro and Liver Unit, helped Ms Mitchell set up the project during the early stages and said it was an "outstanding product".

"I can't wait to see Olly in action", she added.