The CWA hope that patients requiring drainage bags will be able to use these bright and colourful bags to help improve their situation.

Handicraft coordinator Lori Mancell said that the project was initiated when a CWA member required drainage bags which she described as unsightly.

“They made a tough time in hospital just that little bit worse,” Ms Mancell said.

“It’s just really nice to be able to help out, even in a small way.”

The CWA reached out to the hospital and once they indicated they would happily accept the bags the group set about designing and making them.

The project took about two weeks including a four hour working bee where roughly 10 members were able to produce the bulk of the bags.

The Queanbeyan quilters group also contributed bags to the cause.

There were colours and designs of all descriptions, including a particularly funky elephant print, in the hope that both men and women could use the bags

Grail de Mayo, a registered nurse who accepted the bags, said that the patients would definitely appreciate the bags.

One man was due to go home on Friday and required two drainage bags.

Until that point he had been using a plastic bag to carry them around, so Ms de Mayo said the new bags could be put to immediate use.

The CWA has promised to keep producing the bags as the hospital requires more.

The CWA will be holding an awareness week from September 2 to 9 in the hope of recruiting new members, particularly a younger generation.

The Queanbeyan CWA currently has approximately 30 members and have both day and evening branches to accommodate all women.

From August 16 the CWA will have a window display in the CBD showcasing the organisation’s community work.

It is hoped that projects like creating these bags will highlight the breadth of issues the CWA is involved in, leading the organisation to adopt the unofficial motto ‘not just tea and scones’.