Smirthwaite logoMoving, handling and bathing specialist Prism Medical UK has today announced the acquisition of Smirthwaite Ltd. (trading as ‘Smirthwaite’), a manufacturer and supplier of a wide range of specialised equipment for children and young people with special needs.

Devon based Smirthwaite has been designing, manufacturing and selling equipment for almost 30 years, serving both the UK and global markets.  Smirthwaite has prided itself with developing products that provide numerous clinical benefits and promote social inclusion, independence and ease of use.  Smirthwaite will operate as an independent business for the foreseeable future with Richard Snape continuing in his role as Managing Director of Smirthwaite along with the senior management team.

Prism’s growth continues at a remarkable pace and the acquisition of Smirthwaite is expected to increase group turnover to c. £40 million, consolidating Prism’s expanding share of the moving, handling and bathing space.

Commenting on the acquisition, Prism CEO Stuart Meldrum said: “For some time Prism has wanted to extend its offering into paediatric products so that we can serve more of the people in society who need our help. In Smirthwaite we have acquired an excellent company that has demonstrated significant growth in recent years, and has developed a range of products which are highly regarded by its customers. Our aim is to deliver superior solutions with exceptional service and the acquisition of Smirthwaite will further underpin this objective.”

Richard Snape, Smirthwaite MD added: “I am truly excited with the opportunities this acquisition has undoubtedly presented. Smirthwaite has huge potential for increased growth as a leading brand and solution provider for children and young people with special needs. There is now further impetus for this growth with the addition of the expertise and capabilities of the Prism group.”

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Prism Medical UK is to be the shirt sponsor of the Yorkshire Lions Wheelchair Rugby Team for the 2015/16 season.

The sponsorship will run for the team’s inaugural season, covering all competitive and friendly fixtures in which the club participates. Yorkshire Lions are a newly created team participating in national competitions co-ordinated by Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby.

Wheelchair rugby is a mixed team sport for male and female tetraplegics or anyone with an upper limb impairment. Created by athletes with a disability, the sport has gained popularity over the past three years as a result of the successful 2012 Paralympic Games in London. As one of the only full-contact disability sports, wheelchair rugby soon earned its nickname ‘murderball’ due to the no-holds-barred nature of the game.

The partnership with Prism proves to be a good fit due to the nature of the solutions offered by both organisations, the mutual growth trajectory expected in the next 12 months and the companies’ local proximity to ‘The Lions’ base at the Yorkshire Regional Spinal Injuries Centre in Pinderfields Hospital.

Commenting on the sponsorship, Kevan Baker, Yorkshire Lions Wheelchair Rugby Team Manager said: “The whole Yorkshire Lions squad are very pleased to have our first sponsor on board. Prism Medical UK has an excellent name and brand and many of our wider spinal injured members use their specialist equipment, so we are rightly proud to be associated with them.  Wheelchair Rugby is not a cheap sport so the sponsorship funding will support the team in their drive for success.”

Greg Smith, Marketing Manager, Prism Medical UK added: “I couldn’t be more delighted that we were given the opportunity to sponsor the Yorkshire Lions. I am amazed by the amount of time, dedication and hard work that goes into giving wheelchair users a fantastic outlet to demonstrate their sporting ability. The costs to run the team are not insignificant and we hope the sponsorship will help to cover a proportion of this outlay.”

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Moving, handling and bathing specialist Prism Medical UK is delighted to announce the acquisition of Mackworth Healthcare Ltd, a manufacturer and supplier of slings, hoists and shower chairs.

Bridgend based Mackworth has been manufacturing healthcare products for more than 30 years, serving both UK and global markets. The Mackworth and Prism product portfolios are complementary and it is expected the combined offering will generate considerable benefits for customers.  Neil Smith will continue in his role as Managing Director of Mackworth, specifically focusing on the growth and development of sales in their current product range.

Prism has witnessed remarkable growth in recent times, both organically and through last year’s acquisitions of occupational training company HME Ltd. and The Mobility Equipment Company.  These acquisitions support Prism’s intention to become the pre-eminent supplier of moving, handling and bathing equipment to the community and care sectors.

Commenting on the acquisition, Prism CEO Stuart Meldrum said: “Our aim is to deliver superior solutions with exceptional service.  With this in mind, I feel the strategic acquisition of Mackworth will certainly offer our customers a much broader product solution; and a significant uplift in our service provision is expected for customers of both organisations.”

Neil Smith, Mackworth MD added: “Mackworth has come a long way in a relatively short period of time, for which we can be immensely proud.  In joining the Prism group, I am excited to say we have a real opportunity to accelerate the growth of the Mackworth brand.”

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For the second week running Prism has featured on DIY SOS: The Big Build, BBC One’s home improvement show which aims to help deserving families with the help of local tradesmen and suppliers. The show was aired on 10th June at 8:00PM.

Prism worked alongside Nick Knowles and his team to help build a self-contained apartment for Mark Burrows, aged 35, who was left paralysed after an unprovoked attack in 2012.

Prism supplied a complete ceiling track hoist system which was used as part of a life changing transformation to the home of the family in Wigan.

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Prism Medical UK has generously donated £1,000 to the Matt Hampson Foundation in support of their plans to build a new rehabilitation centre.

The Matt Hampson Foundation provides advice, support, relief and treatment for anyone suffering serious injury or disability which has arisen from any cause, but in particular from participation in sport.

The ‘Get Busy Living Centre’ will be the first of its kind for the foundation, enabling beneficiaries to receive rehabilitation through physiotherapy, and social interaction to share experiences, motivating and inspiring each other to move on with their lives.

The build is currently in its initial stages, and work will be expected to start once planning permission has been granted on an existing building that the foundation have acquired. The Prism donation will help towards furnishing the building with state of the art rehabilitation equipment.

Commenting on the donation, Matt Hampson, Founder of the Foundation said: Donations like this from Prism Medical UK will enable us to make this dream of a new rehab centre a reality.

Greg Smith, Marketing Manager, Prism Medical UK added: “Having worked closely with Matt for a number of years, we have witnessed first-hand the amount of sheer graft, determination and dedication in getting the Foundation to the place it is now in. It is a humbling experience to be able to work with such an inspirational person and although representing a mere fraction of the funds required, we hope our contribution can provide a little assistance for the new centre and ultimately the beneficiaries”

Click here for more information about the ‘Get Busy Living Centre’

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Prism Medical UK have once again been involved in an episode of DIY SOS: The Big Build, broadcast on 3rd June at 8:00PM on BBC1.

Alongside Nick Knowles and his team, Prism helped remodel a home in Dartford to make it more suitable for 13-year-old Charlie, who has severe disabilities, and his family.

The DIY SOS team built a new extension and external facilities that transformed the lives of the whole famly in a way that couldn’t have been imaginable at the start of the programme.

Prism were delighted to donate and install a full Freeway TransactiveXtra ceiling track hoist system for Charlie, which will enhance his quality of life by allowing him to safely transfer from a custom built bedroom to a wet room in a dignified manner.

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Moving, handling and bathing specialist Prism Medical UK has today announced the acquisition of The Mobility Equipment Company (TMEC).

Hinckley based TMEC, enjoys a well established reputation as a leading supplier of a range of mobility equipment for the disabled throughout the Midlands.  TMEC also provides installation, service and repair solutions to an expanding customer base.

The acquisition cements Prism’s position as a rapidly growing organisation and follows April’s Management Buyout and September’s purchase of moving and handling training specialist HME Ltd.  Adding TMEC to the Prism Group is expected to increase turnover by approximately £4m million in 2015.

Commenting on the acquisition, Stuart Meldrum, Chief Executive Officer at Prism Medical UK said: “For a long time we have admired the work undertaken by TMEC in the Midlands area.  When the opportunity to acquire TMEC arose, we felt the opportunity was too good to miss.  With a company structure and culture in many ways similar to Prism, I am convinced bringing TMEC into our business will add further momentum to achieving our strategic goals.  For the foreseeable future, TMEC will continue to operate as before with added support from Prism’s resources to make them even more successful.”

Tim Fergus, TMEC’s Managing Director added: “I am delighted that TMEC is now part of the Prism family.  Over the last few years, Prism has proven to be highly successful at manufacturing excellent products, delivering support such as installation and servicing and making the end user of products core to their business philosophy.  I am sure that TMEC’s specific expertise will only enhance what is already a very exciting future.”

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Prism Medical UK is pleased to announce the acquisition of leading training provider Handling, Moving and Ergonomics Ltd. (HME).

HME is an award winning company based in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, specialising in the delivery of a wide range of training services in the moving and handling of people across health and social care.

The acquisition of HME will further strengthen Prism Medical UK’s service offering and enhance its ability to serve customers across the whole of the UK. HME’S 15 strong team will bring extensive training experience, further developing Prism’s status as a complete product and service provider to the moving, handling and bathing industry.

Commenting on the acquisition, Stuart Meldrum, Chief Executive Officer at Prism Medical UK said: “The acquisition of HME was strategically carried out in line with our plan to further strength our moving and handling training offering throughout the UK. HME have core values of providing high levels of training and value to its customers, proving to be a natural fit with the Prism Group.”

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Inaugural Dealer Open Day Proves to be an Overwhelming Success

Prism Medical UK reaffirmed their commitment to helping dealers grow sales of Prism products. The first stage of this new initiative was the inaugural Dealer Open Day which took place on Tuesday, 2nd September at the Kinmel Bay manufacturing division.

The Open Day proved to be an overwhelming success with master of ceremonies, Sales Director Tom Reaney keeping the 25 delegates informed and entertained throughout.

Tom was supported by the brand new cross-departmental Dealer Team which included Craig Wright (Manufacturing), Ian Morley (Product), Greg Smith (Marketing), Brian Ruttle (Technical), Linda Price (Customer Service) and Colin Williams (Training).

The Dealer Team has been formed to provide better support to our Dealer network and each presentation detailed how we will deliver this with a theme of ‘Investment, Partnership and Growth.’

The Open Day included an overview from Prism CEO Stuart Meldrum, a full Kinmel Bay (Freeway) factory tour, interactive product demonstrations of our new E & S Series and sling ranges.

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Prism Medical UK has announced the release of a complete range of assisted baths designed specifically for long term care and acute care environments. Developed in partnership with GK, a long established Austrian based bathing manufacturer, the Prism GK Assisted Bathing Systems provide a responsive solution to cater for various condition types, from low to very high levels of dependency.

The range includes four models; Prism GK Relax, Prism GK Oasis, Prism GK Magic 2000 and the Prism GK Compact. All models come as standard with variable height adjustment, easy to operate control panels and integral shower attachments, offering exceptional value for money.

The Prism GK Compact is the economy offering in the range, featuring easy to use height adjustment which is ideal for those who require ample room to facilitate safe transfers from a mobile hoist. The Prism GK Relax also offers such benefits but with added features including three automatic fill levels, accessible via its touch screen control panel.

When the bath is to be used by those with more severe conditions or poor trunk/postural support, the Prism GK Relax would be the required bath as it includes additional supportive features such as an inbuilt moulded seat and reclining system.

Alternatively, should a bath with exceptional ease of access be required, users may benefit from the integral hoist and optional hoist chair which are key additions on the feature rich Prism GK Oasis.

Additional features available on all four models include hydro-massage therapy, colour therapy and audio/sound therapy.

As with all products within Prism’s extensive portfolio, the baths come with additional services free of charge including assessment, installation, architect planning support and training to care staff.

All baths are WRAS and DO8 approved in order to comply with relevant industry regulations and are available with up to five years extensive warranty.

Prism’s Bathing Product Specialist, Andrew Norris commented: “Everyone at Prism is extremely excited about adding the new baths to our already diverse range of moving, handling and bathing products. It signals our firm intent to provide the highest quality assisted baths, whilst at the same time retaining to our core values of offering exceptional value and ultimately saving the healthcare system money.”

Click here for further information on the Prism GK Assisted Bathing Systems

Alternatively, call us on 0845 409 2000 or contact us.

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