Eakin Healthcare has secured a contract to fund stoma care support services in much of Wales.
As part of the NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership, which acts on behalf of all Health Boards in Wales, Eakin Healthcare has announced it will fund the Stoma Services for three of the Health Boards, covering a large geographical area.
This includes Cwm Taf Bro Morgannwg, which covers Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf; Hywel Dda, encompassing Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire; and Betsi Cadwaladr, which supports Anglesey, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd and Wrexham.
Health Boards across NHS Wales provide a Colorectal and Stoma Service to support patients who require a stoma (an artificial opening in the abdomen allowing waste to exit the body). Through a competitive tender which covered all Health Boards in Wales, Eakin Healthcare won three of six lots against international competitors.
The company operates from a headquarters and manufacturing facility in Cardiff employing 200 people, and recently invested in an 81,905 sq ft facility on Brindley Road in Leckwith, helping to streamline regional distribution operations which serve all the UK. Further investment this year in manufacturing capacity in Cardiff will future-proof supply of its flagship ModaVi brand.
Eakin Healthcare operates as Respond Healthcare to provide dispensing, home delivery and support services to the stoma and continence care community, and its sister company Pelican Healthcare is one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of ostomy products.
Stuart Welland, Chief Commercial Officer, Ostomy Division, Eakin Healthcare, said:
“We are delighted to be reinforcing our strong commitment to Wales and its communities. To win 50% of the contract available via the All-Wales tender is a major statement about the quality of the dispensing service we provide NHS Wales patients, and the extensive range of quality products we manufacture in Cardiff.
“We recognise the importance of our work in helping people with a stoma live their lives and enjoy the same freedoms as those without an invisible illness, and this announcement further demonstrates our passion for Wales, its health sector, and the communities we serve. We have a great partnership with Health Boards and the fantastic Stoma Care Nurses in Wales and we look forward to working even more closely with them. We will continue to invest in developing innovative solutions at our Cardiff HQ, to deliver the best possible product and service to the people we support.”
As part of their ongoing work to support people living with invisible illness, Respond and Pelican Healthcare created the #BetheChange campaign. This initiative has included the creation of new accessible toilet signage; consisting of a broken circle, which is designed to encourage entry and be inclusive and supportive of all people living with hidden illnesses, be it Alzheimer’s, a stoma, anxiety or any other of the conditions experienced by people who need to use an accessible toilet but don’t have a visible medical condition.
Cardiff Council became the first local authority to pilot the new toilet signage and Cardiff University Student Union, St David’s Sixth Form College, and Utilita Arena Cardiff have also adopted the signage.
