It was a big night at an NHS Awards event for a Wrexham family health care business

Healthcare Matters, based in Pentre Broughton, scooped the prestigious 'Support Services' award at the NHS Midlands Excellence in Supply Awards. This award particularly focused on the efforts of the company during the most challenging of all times, the pandemic, and how they maintained excellence in service delivery throughout that period.

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The awards celebrate the work of businesses, third sector organisations and the NHS in collaborating to deliver great patient care. Securing the win 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 their mission has always been clear - to treat every person as though they are family.

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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 said: "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."

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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 collect, deliver to outpatients' homes, and install the necessary equipment.

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If the community store doesn't have the equipment needed then Healthcare Matters provide it on loan until a permanent solution is sourced. This patient first approach to business really impressed the judging panel.

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.

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To get to the award-winning stage, changes were implemented within the culture of the company and Adam'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.

Adam said: "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."

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Managing director Phil Spiby added: "We're not dealing with a broken bed. We're dealing with a person who needs a broken bed mending.

"Person-centred care is our guiding ethos. To maintain this, it was time to focus on the wellbeing of our staff as well."

Healthcare Matters' aim was to recapture the community spirit lost during Covid-19 to enable them to perform to the best of their ability, with the clear goals of offering a world class service, creating a happy and harmonious workplace, and becoming an efficient and effective machine.