Photo-caption: L-R: Dr Robert Lister, patient, Malcolm Jones and nurse, Paula Lawrence.
A new medical breakthrough invented by a Welsh doctor and brought to market by medi UK has has landed a major contract with the NHS.
The duomed soft® 2easy marks a medical breakthrough in compression wear and is the subject of a unique collaboration leading Hereford-based medical supplier, medi UK and Dr Robert Lister of the nearby Wrexham Maelor Hospital.
Drawing on his many years in the clinical field Dr Lister, recognised a worrying trend amongst patients failing to wear the compression devices needed to manage vascular conditions and chronic oedema.
Talking to patients, many elderly, he found that a big issue was that the compressive nature of the standard one-piece garments supplied made them very difficult to put on or take off, especially for those who struggled to bend down or had dexterity issues.
In response, Dr Lister decided to take matters into his own hands by inventing a two-piece system which can be more simply manoeuvred over a patient’s foot, thereby making application and removal much easier.
But he needed an expert partner to make it happen. Cue the arrival of local medical supplier – medi UK who worked closely with Dr Lister to provide the resources, expertise and manufacturing capabilities needed to take the concept to market.
Four years later, and the end result – the patented duomed soft® 2easy product – has been developed and fast-tracked to market by medi UK and received NHS backing.
Already available on the NHS, the product becomes available for NHS prescription on 1st December 2021.
Andy Holman, Business Development Manager at medi UK comments: “Here at medi UK, we believe that fostering a startup spirit is important no matter how large and successful your business – which is why we always go to such great lengths to nurture innovation and new ideas amongst the medical community.
“From the offset, we knew that Dr Lister’s concept was an incredibly innovative one which could revolutionise the ease of compression wear and drastically improve the quality of life for thousands of people across the country living with these types of conditions. We are therefore incredibly proud to have been able to help get it over the line and to the market so quickly and look forward to its mainstream adoption.”
Talking of the invention itself, Dr Lister said: “Unfortunately, over the years I’ve seen so many cases of patients living with chronic wounds which are unable to heal and continue to get worse. In the worst case scenario, this can lead to a badly smelling open wound which can be incredibly embarrassing and isolating, while severely impacting quality of life – not to mention the constant trips back and forth to the GP.
“Inherently, the problem is that the compression wear used to address these issues is hard to put on, particularly for those who are less able, meaning it just hasn’t been used.
“duomed soft ® 2easy changes this. It sounds so simple, but the fact that it is a two-piece rather than a singular garment makes it so much easier to get over the foot and past the ankle. Having, of course, tried it out amongst endless patients of varying capabilities, it’s safe to say it’s the easiest compression wear garment I’ve come across.”
As many as 90,000 people in the UK are required to wear compression wear to manage a variety of medical conditions, typically for life.
For further information on medi UK please visit www.mediuk.co.uk