The British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA) has welcomed Manfred Sauer UK as a new member. Manfred Sauer UK is a specialist in continence management systems. Its high-quality and innovative products are often designed by end-users and healthcare professionals.
The BHTA recently caught up with Carol Hutching, Nursing Services Manager at Manfred Sauer UK, to learn more about her extensive background in nursing, all about Manfred Sauer UK and Manfred Sauer Care, and the value of BHTA membership.
Carol Hutchings is the nursing services manager at Manfred Sauer UK. She joined the company in November 2018 and has previously worked as a nurse specialist within other commercial companies. She, therefore, has a good understanding of the commercial world, but ultimately it is her patients who come first and finding the best solutions for them is foremost.
Carol began training as a nurse in September 1984 at what was then the Barking, Havering & Brentwood School of Nursing. Based at Harold Wood Hospital, Carol has fond memories of her training there and her subsequent position as a staff nurse on an acute medical ward. Carol remembers the hospital as a friendly and fun place to work. Everyone pulled together and supported each other, and the training was such that they learned ‘on the go’. Teaching and supervision were second to none, so she knew right from the start that nursing was the right pathway to follow.
Carol got married during her second year of training and had her first daughter three years later but has continued with her nursing throughout.
In 1996, by which time she was at a different hospital, Carol was feeling a bit disillusioned with the way things were managed on the wards and decided it was time to try something different. She applied for her first commercial nursing position, and, although surprised at the time, she got offered the post.
She has not looked back.
Carol enthuses: “To steal a phrase from my friend and colleague, Tracy, I feel that my job with Manfred Sauer is my ‘forever job’ and that I will be with the company until it either puts me out to grass or I give in to retirement.”
Carol says: “In spite of Manfred Sauer UK being established for over 25 years ago, many people are still unaware that Manfred Sauer is a real person. Not only that, he is an absolute inspiration!”
Manfred was born in Germany in 1944. At the age of 19 in the UK, he had a diving accident resulting in a spinal cord injury. He has had tetraplegia since 1963, and he underwent his rehabilitation at the Stoke Mandeville Spinal Unit in the days of its founder, Sir Ludwig Guttmann.
Following his accident, he noticed a real gap in continence management and a lack of options available. As a result, in 1965, he began to develop and market condom urinals or urinary sheaths. In 1976, he launched Manfred Sauer GmbH, which is now a firmly established business enjoying a large share in the rehabilitation marketplace for continence systems in Europe and an ever-growing market share in mainstream continence management in the UK.
Thanks to the insight of Manfred back in the 1960s, Manfred Sauer UK is also now well known in the continence market. The company seeks to offer high-quality, innovative products, which are often designed by end-users and healthcare professionals.
Manfred Sauer UK is based in Northampton and is the UK distributor for the Manfred Sauer product portfolio, offering users a diverse and extensive choice. The products are manufactured in Germany.
“They undergo rigorous testing before they are released into the marketplace, as we believe it is vital to get things right from the start,” adds Carol. “We offer more choices in urinary sheath sizes than any other manufacturer; leg bags with unique features and benefits which make a difference; Nephsys, a specially designed Nephrostomy system that can be worn around the waist; and more.”
Manfred Sauer Care is the company’s home delivery and nursing service division. It offers a personal service with professional care. This is delivered by a friendly and knowledgeable team that takes time to listen and understand.
“We not only offer a prescription home delivery service, but one that puts the needs of the user first,” Carol says. “We pride ourselves in the fact that we take time to ensure every order is managed with sensitivity, care and, understanding.”
The service offers a swift and efficient delivery to a chosen address on a day that suits. Personalised product customisation is available.
Manfred Sauer Care also supplies all manufacturers’ products, holding a comprehensive range to enable it to fulfil all prescriptions promptly. It accepts prescriptions by electronic prescription service, and a Popular Standing Order Service is available.
Manfred Sauer Care will dispense any brand of continence, stoma, and woundcare product available on NHS prescription, direct to the patient.
In recent years, Manfred Sauer UK has expanded significantly, as Carol explains: “We are known as a company that provides innovative products or products with a difference. We have the Bendi bag, designed specifically for wheelchair users, and the NephSys system for people struggling with the management of their nephrostomy/s.
“With the popularity of such products, our business has grown substantially over recent years. As a result, we have expanded, and we run our business over two units instead of the one, as we did for years.
“Our nursing team is growing, and our prescription team are seeing an ever-increasing number of referrals to our service.”
Manfred Sauer UK has recently joined the BHTA. As the company has a small team, one of the main benefits of becoming a BHTA member is being part of a larger industry community.
Carol says: “We are faced with constant challenges, such as trying to keep up with the impact of the Part IX consultation and changes in regulations. We hope that being a part of the community will strengthen our business relationships and increase our knowledge and understanding of industry changing events. We very much look forward to working together.”
To find out more about how the BHTA can support your business and how to become a BHTA member, visit this page.