Innovation leads to success for medical supply company

Hospital Innovations, Llantrisant - MD Phil Davies. (C) Huw John, Cardiff, www.huwjohn.com

One of Wales’ leading medical supply companies is celebrating after another record breaking year, thanks in part to the success of its ground-breaking offering.

The UK’s leading supplier of specialist products for use in orthopaedic, surgical and corrective procedures, Hospital Innovations’ turnover grew by 20 percent in 12 months, a continuation of the success which has seen the company achieve 24.7 percent compound growth since it began in 2008.

The company, which recently relocated to new, multi-million premises in Talbot Green, employs over 40 staff and has a turnover of just under £7million.

Hospital Innovations currently supplies more than 500 NHS and private hospitals UK-wide and the company is constantly trying to find new, innovative ways of helping them improve the services they offer patients.

A prime example of this is the tissue return service introduced by Hospital Innovations in 2011. The offering was piloted after the company realised that hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of valuable tissue was going to waste with last minute operation cancellations every year.

Since its inception Hospital Innovations’ returns scheme has saved the NHS in excess of £2million.  This has been made possible by Hospital Innovations’ advanced equipment, which enables them to store and transport tissues at the extremely low temperatures required to keep them viable for use.

Hospital Innovations was also the first company to introduce a variety of ground-breaking products to market such as the supply of human nerves for allografts and while this is not a common treatment, for those who have it can be life-changing. The company was also the first to introduce amniotic stem cells combining amnion and chorion cells, which have the potential to revolutionise wound care, general surgery and many orthopaedic procedures.

Hospital Innovations Managing Director, Phil Davies, said: “The NHS is unique and wonderful in so many ways but there can be no question that it has issues that must be addressed. As an independent supplier/consultant, I believe that Hospital Innovations and companies like us, are perfectly placed to help the NHS thrive, be it through helping them with their procurement or acting on a consultancy basis.

“I wanted to rewrite the model for businesses like ours through our work and I believe that we have. As well as working with hospitals, we have been very involved with the Welsh Wound Innovation Centre (WWIC) since its inception and I believe that through them we have the opportunity to change the face of woundcare not just in Wales but the world over.”

The WWIC is leading the way in the field of wound prevention and treatment. Hospital Innovations has worked with WWIC on a number of new projects, including developing patient monitoring. As well as working with WWIC on a consultancy basis, the company also acts as a facilitator for the centre procuring drugs and equipment.

Phil said: “This accomplishment is testament to the work of a talented and driven team.

“Having worked in the medical supply industry for many years, my vision for Hospital Innovations was that it should be able to respond quickly to the changes in the healthcare sector and strive to be one of the leading innovators in the industry. I believe that the quality of our products and the depth of our knowledge has been integral to our success.”

Hospital Innovations is a company not content to rest on its laurels and the business’ next steps are likely to be the launch of their newest division specialising in hip and knee replacements with long-terms follow up and proven efficacy as well as a potential acquisition.

Phil said: “In order to keep developing and growing, we need to take bold steps. As well as ensuring that we continue to offer our clients the very best service, we need to assess our business and other businesses out there to decide whether there are acquisitions we can make that will help us thrive.

“While we haven’t yet found the right investment, we are constantly on the lookout.”

Phil has been directly involved with orthopaedics since 1983 and in that time has worked for some of the world’s leading orthopaedic device companies.

Hospital Innovations’ product divisions incorporate innovative design and processes to tried and tested technologies.

The major markets that Hospital Innovations operates in are hip revision, spinal surgery, restorative knee surgery and a number of innovative solutions for soft tissue damage related to the early onset of osteoarthritis of the knee.