21st July 2020

Surgical instrument manufacturer chosen to package and sterilise 1.92 million items of PPE to protect NHS staff against COVID-19

Single Use Surgical*, part of Eakin Healthcare Group, have signed a contract to package and sterilise 1.92 million surgical isolation gowns – a move that will create 45 new jobs and protect frontline NHS staff against COVID-19. The project is well under way, with weekly deliveries into NHS England having already started this month.

The Welsh surgical manufacturer, who usually design and manufacture single-use surgical equipment, are using their specialist knowledge and expertise to provide packaging and ethylene oxide (EO) sterilisation services.

The protective equipment is manufactured by Survitec, a British manufacturer of personal survival equipment who contacted Single Use Surgical in April after hearing about the company’s EO capabilities. The two companies quickly established a good relationship over Microsoft Teams during lockdown and progressed to dispatching gowns this month.

The partnership will see Single Use Surgical recruit up to 45 people to support the operation over the next year. These positions will be temporary but could be made permanent if the demand for PPE continues.

Single Use Surgical say the move is a step away from their usual business but welcome the opportunity and the challenge.

Speaking about the partnership, Head of International Sales and Business Development, Michael Denver says: “It is an absolute pleasure to engage with Survitec Group Ltd. and support the national effort for PPE. Due to the time scales involved, we have worked together to complete a year’s worth of work in 5 weeks. This is a new venture for us, but we were able to leverage our capabilities as a manufacturer of single-use surgical equipment to support the project.

“There is a clear desire to provide our NHS with PPE and other equipment from manufacturers that are based and fully operational within the UK. We have all seen the challenges of importing such equipment and it’s a good reminder of the skills and expertise we have within the Medical Device sector in the UK.”

The PPE will be manufactured in Survitec’s Birkenhead factory, which has continued to operate during the COVID-19 crisis, supporting the UK’s aerospace and defence industries. This has now been expanded to include a dedicated site for production of these life-saving gowns. The company will be hiring over 100 additional workers from the local area to support this critical work.

Paul Eakin, CEO of Eakin Healthcare Group, added: “In these challenging times, it is important that UK business steps up to support the NHS. We are glad to be partnering with another UK company in Survitec Group Ltd., to support the provision of PPE. The Eakin Group has remained operational through this crisis and it is a credit to our colleagues who have worked diligently to ensure we are in a position to support this project. We are delighted to be able to contribute to the jobs markets in Cardiff and expect to start recruiting from the middle of June and will continue throughout the process.”

Single Use Surgical is part of Eakin Healthcare Group and was established as a direct response to UK hospitals’ concerns over the cleaning practices involving fine lumen instruments. Their ethos is simple – to produce instruments that are sterile, efficient, and manufactured to the highest standards, all carefully designed to put patients first and reduce the risk of cross-contamination.