Homecare Medical Supplies in Kiltimagh celebrated the official opening of its €1.5 million service centre this week. On Monday, An Taoiseach Enda Kenny performed the official opening which has seen the company expand its workforce by 40 new staff this year.
The expansion has come due to a new contract with the HSE for the provision of decontamination and recycling services which will see the HSE save approximately €4 million a year by avoiding having to replace medical equipment outright.
Homecare Medical Supplies was recently awarded an exclusive contract to provide a community based patient aids and appliance recycling service to the HSE across 20 of the 26 counties. Community based aids and appliances have historically represented a significant area of expenditure for HSE. The efficient recycling of this equipment, in a controlled environment, presents an opportunity for HSE to make significant savings to its annual expenditure budget. Homecare has invested heavily in infrastructure, logistics, software and people to come up with a service offer that is driving significant cost savings to the exchequer. All of this is done through a quality management system that is ISO 13485 and ISO 9001 approved.
“Put simply, much of the equipment that was being deployed into people’s homes was not being recycled,” explained Peter McGuinness, managing director, Homecare Medical Supplies. “Now the equipment, like specialised beds, hoists, and so on are collected, serviced, cleaned, and redeployed. That’s the service we are providing and we are hopeful that it will expand further and allow us to employ more people and save the HSE more money.”
“We have been careful to keep our costs under tight control so that we can deliver savings to our customers, whether they are the HSE, nursing homes, or any other sector of the health service,” added John Doyle, general manager, Homecare Medical Supplies. “And that has meant that even in tough times like this, we have been able to expand our services and the numbers we employ.”
Homecare was formed in 1988 by current directors Peter and Mary McGuinness. With a primary focus on the care of the elderly, the company has grown to become one of Ireland’s leading service and product providers to the HSE, private nursing home, and retail markets. It employs in excess of 100 staff nationwide.
