Pentre-Broughton based ‘Healthcare Matters’ scoops prestigious award

A Wrexham-based company has received scooped the prestigious ‘Support Services’ award at the NHS Midlands Excellence in Supply Awards.

Healthcare Matters, based in Pentre Broughton, provides mobility equipment servicing and repairs.

The family run business received the award for its efforts during the coronavirus pandemic and how they maintained excellence in service delivery throughout that period.

The awards celebrate the work of businesses, third sector organisations and the NHS in collaborating to deliver great patient care, but what really clinched it for the Wrexham provider was their whole brand ethos and approach to business.

‘It’s the person that counts’ is the philosophy that guides the firm, founded by Phil Spiby in 2005, and their ‘customer-above-all-else’ philosophy means that their mission has always been clear – to treat every person as though they are family.

Recovering from heart surgery in 2005, Phil Spiby had a vision of serving the wellbeing of local communities and has since built Healthcare Matters to be a £3.25m company employing 46 staff and three generations of family.

Director Adam Spiby commented: “Our guys worked incredibly hard under very difficult circumstances through the pandemic, so it’s gratifying to see their excellence in service and efforts recognised in this way, it was a passion to provide a world class service to those that really need it, and it was our sense of ‘togetherness’ and teamwork that got us through that period.”

As well as serving the local community, Healthcare Matters provide support services to Midlands NHS Trusts to maintain provision of specialist healthcare equipment within individuals’ homes including, hoists, specialist seating, beds and more.

When a patient is discharged from hospital, Healthcare Matters are notified by community equipment stores and they then spring into action to collect, deliver to outpatients’ homes, and install the necessary equipment.

If the community store doesn’t have the equipment needed then Healthcare Matters provide it on loan until a permanent solution is sourced, making sure that an individual’s needs always come first and that everyone has exactly what they need, when they need it.

The company’s commitment to ensuring the best possible treatment for Trust outpatients also extends to providing free training sessions to ensure hospital staff know how to use equipment safely and to its full potential.

To get to the award winning stage changes were implemented within the culture of the company and Adam Spiby’s clear assessment of challenges and how to improve staff morale during Covid was deemed to be a ‘clinching’ moment in winning the prestigious award.

Mr Spiby explained: “In the early days, management would visit the pub at the end of the week and discuss how they’d made the world a better place. By late 2021, the challenges of Covid were taking their toll.

“With our team fundamental to our ability to serve our customers, we needed to remind ourselves why we do what we do so we could keep doing it to the absolute best of our ability.

“The equipment we supply and repair is absolutely imperative to an individual’s quality of life. We’re often dealing with vulnerable people, and often individuals in their final days of life.

“The importance of the correct and functioning equipment in these situations cannot be overstated. It impacts the individual, their carers, the whole family.

“We always need to focus on this and we cannot underestimate how much of a positive impact this has on staff morale and service delivery.”

Phil Spiby added: “More importantly than anything, we touched the lives of over 100,000 people in the Midlands and made it possible for nearly 500 to spend their final days at home.

“This is in addition to all of our work here in North Wales and further afield and we could not be more proud of our wonderful team.

“It’s the person that counts.”