Trade Talk: How Care & Independence is ‘improving lives’ with its latest products
Oxfordshire-headquartered Care & Independence manufactures slings, shower chairs and cradles and stretchers, alongside selling a varied range of mobility aids and products to hospitals, nursing and residential homes and private customers. The past 12 months has been a busy one for the firm, as it has embarked on a big recruitment drive while releasing new products…
Care & Independence provides a range of products that are designed to aid mobility, independence and improve daily life for the elderly and less able. Its product range comprises a wide variety of sling types to help in the moving and handling of patients in hospitals, nursing homes and home environments, as well as a full range of showering and bathing products.
A truly British company it has two UK-based workshops where its designs and manufactures its products, with all of its staff working under the ethos of ‘improving lives’. THIIS spoke to Ian Jones, Managing Director of Care & Independence, to find out more…
Why do you think the Glove Sling range was so successful?
Ian: “When we first launched glove sling™ with the Glove Deluxe Tux, no other manufacturer offered anything like it. The ‘Tux’ shape is now a staple in the market and has been much replicated since – which we take as a great compliment.”
“As a company we are driven by improving lives and part of that means endeavouring in our understanding of the many complex problems experienced by users of our products. Through on-going market research
with users, careers and leading healthcare professionals, we continue to innovate, address and resolve issues – the introduction of the Glove Diamond sling family being one of our most recent success stories.
“The Glove Tux as I’ve already said is a highly popular and well-established sling but it’s also over 15 years since it was first designed. Confident that we could better even the ’Tux’, we reviewed everything we already knew and considered how we could further improve the sling in terms of performance, functionality and experience for the user and carer.
“The Glove Diamonds went through our comprehensive New Product Introduction process, with multiple iterations of prototypes before we were happy to bring it to market. The feedback we’ve had since launch has been phenomenal – the Diamond slings were absolutely worth the wait and are set to overtake the Tuxes as the go-to sling choice for sling prescribers.”
Marjorie White [who retired at the end of 2022] has been behind some of the company’s most innovative designs. What do you consider to be her most successful designs?
Ian: “I truly believe Marj is one of the best sling designers in the industry – if not the best. She has not only been instrumental in developing our Glove Sling range from the outset but also in propelling the entire sling industry forward regarding sling design and comfort for the user.
“A prime example of Marj’s extraordinary prowess for problem solving is with the Glove Airflow. In 2007 we had originally identified a number of user experience issues with in-chair slings, such as overheating and a higher tissue viability risk due to the sling being in-situ. Marj resolved this by thinking outside of the box.
“The one-cut material gives added comfort as there are no seams to contend with when seated and it was also purposely designed without an aperture for pressure relieving benefits. The fabric itself – which Marj sourced – was originally purposed for military and police garments to help regulate body temperature during extreme-pressure situations, making it perfect for sling users who need to remain in-situ for longer periods of time than normal.
“This is also evidenced through the pressure mapping we have undertaken which proves low heat retention compared to other fabrics, as well as showing that using the Glove Airflow doesn’t compromise a pressure cushion either.
“More recently, the Glove Diamond Deluxe family bears all the hallmarks of Marj’s talent and inherent knack for understanding just what is needed to address often complex issues. It is thanks to Marj that users can now benefit from a patented diamond aperture helping alleviate pressure on the cocyxx and sacrum.
“Her understanding of how a sling construction functions in conjunction to the body also led to the innovation of the also patented binding-free leg sections greatly reducing tissue viability risks and making fitting a dream. It is however not just our premium Glove Sling range where Marj has made an impact – she has also pioneered our Comfort Value sling range development with invaluable direction to design and production-related matters.
“Marj is, without question, an absolute beacon of inspiration for us all. Alongside other current product development projects underway, Marj has also been busy training up her successors in the Research & Design and Process Excellence teams to take on her mantle when she takes her much-deserved retirement later this year.”
Care & Independence have made a number of new appointments in the past year. What were the reasons for this recruitment drive?
“In 2019/20 restructuring activities saw Care & Independence exit its hoist and service & Installation revenue streams. This allowed the business to re-focus on its core activities; design, manufacture and distribution of slings and bathing products.
“Care & Independence is now in a hugely ambitious growth phase and to support this we have significantly invested in our design and sales teams. Early in 2021 we recruited a manufacturing engineer and also doubled the size of our development team, resulting in over 20 new products being launched in that year. September 2021 saw the recruitment of three new sales and marketing roles, responsible for delivering revenues from our new product launches.
“The investment in new staff has seen the business achieve significant double digit growth in 2022 and we are confident this will continue in the years ahead. Our core focus is ‘Improving Lives’ and today we are improving the lives of over 135,000 people per year.
“In addition to growth of existing product ranges, 2023 will see us proactively look for complimentary revenue streams as we look to achieve our 10-year ambition of Improving 1,000,000 lives per year by 2031. Further recruitment in design, sales and marketing will ensure our ambitions can be achieved.”
Jim Ash was appointed Operations and Projects Director last summer. How has Jim been helping the firm to achieve its business goals?
“Jim Ash was appointed in 2019 to assist with a number of ongoing special projects, including the planned restructuring activities. After the successful conclusion of these projects, Jim was appointed Operations and Technical Director in 2020. Care & Independence have a 10-year target to improve the lives of 1,000,000 people per year by 2031, representing a six-fold growth in products sold.
“To achieve this Care & Independence needs a robust New Product Introduction process, increased and more efficient production capability, and an improved logistics solution. All these areas fall under Jim’s accountability.”
What products is Care & Independence looking to launch this year?
“We currently have a number of new product development projects underway. The R&D Team have a highly comprehensive multi-stage development procedure which allows us to be meticulous at each stage in the design process.
“We won’t bring any sling to market until it has passed rigorous testing and successfully upheld the high standards we demand of all our products – be that the Glove Sling or Comfort Value ranges. Do expect to see some new additions over the coming months though!”
How important are exhibitions and events for Care & Independence?
“Care & Independence have recently invested in the Sedex platform allowing us to manage and improve working conditions in our global supply chain, thereby becoming a more responsible manufacturer. As a company we are continually increasing our awareness of how this is impacting the healthcare sector, which is why we attended the BHTA Integration and Sustainability Conference in London in September 2022.
“From a sales & marketing perspective we continue to attend exhibitions and events for our industry. It’s important for us to meet with people face-to-face and enable a hands-on experience with our products. We also continue to provide training events throughout the country.”
Are there any plans for Care & Independence to boost its presence outside of the UK?
“Currently the majority of our revenues are generated within the UK. As part of our 3-year picture and 10-year target we recognise that new revenue streams will be required. Our niche is the design, manufacture and distribution of premium assessment-led healthcare products. We will therefore look to grow through existing products in new UK market sectors, through new complimentary products aligned to our niche, and through increased penetration outside the UK.
“To support this plan we recently attended Rehacare 2022 in Düsseldorf, Germany and enjoyed a very successful show. Over the course of the next few weeks and months we will look to develop strong, long-term relationships with the leads generated.”
What do you think have been the main challenges for Care & Independence over the past 12 months?
“The challenges of the last two years do not need repeating and hopefully the world has now learnt to live with COVID. We are, however, forever mindful of the risks that new variants pose, such as when the Omicron variant hit the UK at the back end of 2021. The whole of the Care & Independence team responded fantastically to all the challenges thrown our way during the last two years, and continued to deliver an outstanding service, remaining open for business every day throughout the pandemic.
“Thankfully because we operate a predominantly UK based Tier 1 supply chain, the tragedy that hit the world in February, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, did not severely impact our business. However as such an event can affect in many ways, as a business we ensure that staff have access to help and support whenever needed.
“Our greatest recent challenge – and one that is still ongoing – is the inflationary pressure we are experiencing as a business as well as the cost of living crisis being felt by the majority of our staff. With no end in sight in the near future, as a business we again are ensuring our staff have access to help and support whenever needed.
“In addition to training three members of staff as mental health first aiders, during the COVID crisis the business invested in a six-month wellbeing programme available to all staff; webinars, one-to-one consultations and a number of tailormade workshops.
“As we moved into 2022 it became obvious to us that financial wellbeing had become the single biggest discussion topic. We therefore switched our Wellbeing investment to an online platform, available to all staff, allowing people to deal with money worries by accessing dedicated financial coaches and powerful, personal budgetary tools.”
What does 2023 hold for Care & Independence?
“2023 will be an exciting year for Care & Independence, a year that will see us continue the journey towards our ambition of improving 1,000,000 lives per year by 2031. The focus will now be firmly on growth and all energies and activities will support our growth plans. I’m sure it won’t be without its challenges and I see staff welfare as a key area for the Senior Management Team to focus on.
“I believe the industry will continue to grow but it will need to face up to its own budgetary pressures. Personally I hope the industry does not start to compromise patient care with budgetary consideration overriding clinical efficacy. During my 30 years in the industry ‘commoditisation’ has always been a word that, in my opinion, does not sit alongside medical devices.
“Thankfully the clinical voice has always been strong and prevailed, but never before have they tried to win the argument following a global pandemic.”
