11th December 2015

Rocialle wins ‘Partnership with the NHS’ at MediWales Innovation Awards evening

At the MediWales awards dinner on 8th Dec 2015, Rocialle received the coveted ‘Partnership with the NHS’ award for its work with NHS Wales and particularly ABM UHB, in the development of a national cannulation procedure pack.

The award was presented by Professor Keith Harding and received by Stephen Burt, Managing Director of Rocialle, during the awards ceremony at the National Museum of Wales. Paul Lee, Medical Devices Training Manager, ABM University Health Board, received the award for ‘Collaboration with a Welsh Company’ for ABMU’s side of the same project.

Rocialle started this project in March 2014. Having identified cannulation as an area in which its expertise and products could provide considerable benefit to the NHS in both infection control and cost reduction, Rocialle invited infection control specialists to meet and, after receiving a presentation from Stephen Rowley originator of Aseptic Non Touch Technique (ANTT), develop packs containing all of the consumables required for a cannulation procedure. Rocialle’s project tied in with research being conducted by Paul Lee of ABM UHB. Paul had organised a survey that showed significant benefits across many criteria once a sterile pack was introduced for cannulation procedures at Morriston Hospital.

Hosting another meeting, Rocialle worked with Paul and colleagues from NHS Wales to develop a pack for use across Wales. Once the pack was developed, Rocialle supported trials at five Welsh University Health Boards, providing clinical expertise and specifically designed promotional material.

These MediWales awards are recognition that by working together on these packs, Rocialle and ABM UHB are making a major contribution to patient safety. Compliance with best practice is improved dramatically across the key elements including hand hygiene, skin cleaning and the use of single use tourniquets and IV dressings. With documents in the pack, vital patient information is communicated and each nursing shift records the results of an inspection of the cannulation site for signs of phlebitis.

As well as enabling standardisation and the embedding of best practice, it was recognised by the MediWales judges that cannulation packs will provide the NHS with considerable savings. Efficiency gains in ordering, stock management, picking and preparation are considerable even before infection prevention is included in a financial evaluation.

At the awards evening, Rocialle also received a mention in the acceptance speech of another category winner. Sam Evans, Managing Director of Salar Surgical, winner of the award for ‘Best Start-Up Company’, praised Rocialle for its contribution to his company’s success. Rocialle manufactures the sterile packs within which Salar Surgical’s SP.eye™ is provided to clinicians, complete with the drape and other consumable items required for the procedure.

Stephen Burt was delighted with this additional commendation, saying “It’s great that we have won an award and seen our NHS partners similarly rewarded, for developing a Rocialle pack that will contribute towards the saving of lives within the NHS.  It also very pleasing to receive praise from Salar Surgical, winner of the Best Start Up Award,  for our contract manufacturing, which adds value to another company’s products in the form of efficiency gains, infection control and crucially, the embedding of standardisation and best practice.”

Rocialle, with wide ranges of medical packs and single use surgical instruments, packed and sterilised at its facilities in the UK, is helping healthcare providers to control infection and drive down the cost of high quality medical products. Rocialle serves almost every National Health Service Trust in the UK, private hospital groups and distributors in the UK and around the world. Rocialle is part of Berendsen Plc, a FTSE250 company and a European textile service business with leading positions in most of the countries in which it operates. Berendsen has 15,000 employees across 15 countries throughout Europe. Rocialle employs 350 people at its Mountain Ash site, close to Cardiff.

For more information, contact Mark Birchmore, Marketing Manager, Rocialle.

Rocialle, Cwm Cynon Business Park, Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taff, CF45 4ER,UK