A COLLECTION of luxury medical bags aimed at women in healthcare has been launched by a county GP.

Dr Catherine Fernando set up her own business after becoming frustrated that accessories for doctors remained masculine, despite more and more women entering the world of medicine.

IYASU – Japanese for ‘to heal’ – officially launches on Wednesday, and there has been early interest from as far afield as Philadelphia.

Dr Fernando, who lives in Haddington, wanted the bags to appeal to professional women and provide all the necessary function for life as a GP or hospital doctor.

She said: “I wanted the bags to be beautiful but wanted them to be functional.

“That is where all the pockets come in.

“All the bespoke pockets are easily accessible for everything we need on a daily basis.

“I wanted the bags to be environmentally responsible and to make them eco-friendly.”

It is more than 150 years since Dr Elizabeth Blackwell became the first female doctor in the UK.

Until her arrival in 1870, women were deemed to be too fragile and squeamish to study medicine.

Now, for the first time in history, female medical students outnumber their male counterparts.

Dr Fernando, whose husband Kevin works as a GP partner in North Berwick, was keen to expand the range of accessories for doctors, which she felt remained “so masculine”.

East Lothian Courier: Each of the bags are modelled by healthcare professionals

One of the bags being modelled by a medical professional

She said: “My brown leather bag did not reflect my personality and my stethoscope was constantly tangled around the other equipment due to a lack of pockets. I was willing to spend a reasonable amount of money on a work case, but I couldn’t find anything I liked.”

In 2019, the mum-of-four, who has served at practices throughout East Lothian, started working on the idea of a luxury collection of vegan medical bags.

She visited Business Gateway in East Lothian, who, impressed with the idea, pointed her in the direction of Scottish Enterprise.

Funding was awarded and Dr Fernando, who is a family GP at Orchard Medical Practice in Haddington, said: “I got a designer in the fashion industry for 35 years to design the collection.

“I sent her the medical equipment we carry on a day-to-day basis and they designed a beautiful range of styles with multiple pockets in them, which allowed all the equipment we carry as a general practitioner, and also we have got quilted laptop cases.”

The bags are now being modelled by medical staff from throughout East Lothian, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

To celebrate women in medicine, each IYASU bag is named after an inspirational female medical pioneer.

Elizabeth Blackwell, Elsie Inglis, Catherine Hamlin, Patricia Bath, Virginia Apgar and Mae Jemison are all honoured.

Five per cent of the profits will be donated to the Malala Fund, supporting the right of every child to have an education.

Dr Fernando stressed that the bags were about more than just functionality.

She told the Courier: “I recognise that doctors not only care about their patients, but also about the planet.

“Because of that, IYASU bags are constructed from recycled plastic bottles (RPET – recycled polyethylene terephthalate) and vegan leather (PU – polyurethane).

“And the product packaging is recyclable too.”

After graduating from the University of Aberdeen medical school in 2001, Dr Fernando started working as a junior doctor.

However, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

During the same year, she sadly lost her father and her best friend, who died of breast cancer aged 26.

She said: “I love being a GP and helping people as individuals, and I hope I can use IYASU to do greater good in this world, promoting gender equality, raising money for healthcare charities, and raising awareness of environmental concerns.”