Berry bpi in Heanor has long been a major supplier to the NHS, but the COVID-19 epidemic has pushed that relationship onto a new plane. The company has responded to the new situation with flexibility and competence. So when the Nightingale Hospital needed sacks – it got them.
The new NHS Nightingale Hospital in London, was built over 10 days with the assistance of the UK Armed Forces. The temporary hospital, housed in the Excel Exhibition Centre, has the capacity to treat up to 4,000 Covid-19 patients.
Like healthcare facilities everywhere, the hospital was confronting dire shortages of the equipment and supplies needed to handle the influx of patients responsibly and safely. It also needed clinical waste bags.
The Berry bpi Heanor facility received a call from the NHS to urgently despatch 150,000 of these bags directly to the hospital. Production was rescheduled and the following morning a delivery was arranged with the company’s logistics partner XPO.
“We have been working closely with the NHS at the highest level to ensure that we meet the increased demand for clinical waste bags,” said Berry bpi sales director Lorcan Mekitarian.
“However, given the speed of development of the Nightingale Hospital, we were asked to deliver these sacks in less than 24 hours. I am deeply proud of the efforts from everyone at bpi and XPO.”
In recent weeks, the Heanor factory has turned over a large of part of its capacity to meet the increased demand from hospitals across the country for clinical waste sacks, which are vital in the fight against infection and in keeping hospitals functioning.