April 2, 2020, Oxford – Owen Mumford, a leading medical device company based in Oxfordshire, is making a difference by supporting the NHS’s efforts to tackle COVID-19. The company has supplied the NHS with over 10 million finger-prick devices to stock regional Nightingale field hospitals, with the first hospital set to receive patients this week at London Excel.
Owen Mumford manufactures the Unistik safety lancets used for finger-prick blood sampling in Woodstock, for rapid blood testing needed for conditions like diabetes and HIV, and is a regular supplier for the NHS. However, the company has gone above and beyond to meet this urgent request from the NHS, which is expected to provide critical supplies for the new healthcare facilities being established across the country.
Jarl Severn, Managing Director of Owen Mumford, said, “We’re proud to support the NHS response to the COVID-19 emergency and I’m thankful to our team for their quick response in ramping up our production.”
At the same time, we’re also continuing to manufacture injection devices, including pens and auto-injectors, so that patients with conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and diabetes, as well as those who need lifesaving Anapen devices for anaphylactic shock, can continue to access the essential medicine they need during the national lockdown.”
Joanne Thompson, General Manager UK & Ireland and Rest of the World (ROW), is based at Owen Mumford’s Chipping Norton site and has worked with the company for 18 years. She said, “We understand how important it is for the NHS to have access to the medical devices needed to treat patients through this crisis. Our production and distribution teams worked extremely hard to fulfill this order quickly. We all recognize how vital these devices are going to be and we’re proud to play our part in helping healthcare professionals fight the virus.”
In addition to direct orders for NHS lancets, Owen Mumford is also working with COVID-19 rapid test developers. This second wave of tests, which require blood samples to detect antibodies, is aimed first at critical care workers. The first shipments have already gone out to sites across the UK, and the Oxfordshire team will keep meeting demand as the situation evolves.