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COVID-19 is still here and so is Medaco

Published On: 17th September 2020

Updated: 19th January 2022

As we continue through this sustained period of transmission, the health, safety and well-being of our staff, customers and service users is our top priority. We are continually monitoring the situation, talking with our customers and the health and safety experts, to ensure we are adapting, as necessary.

Medaco recognises the key role that we are playing in the healthcare sector, throughout this COVID-19 Pandemic. During the height of the pandemic, we continued to carry out routine servicing, maintenance and LOLER Inspections where possible, to ensure your equipment is safe to use and in working order when needed most.

We are aware of the uncertainties that still surround us and would like to reassure you that we have put proactive measures in place to help protect our customers, their service users, and our own staff. These include:

  • Double vaccinations for all engineers All our field service engineers and staff who complete site visits are double vaccinated in line with the government regulations for care homes and new regulations for all NHS organisations. Any new engineers recruited will be double vaccinated to help support and protect our customers.
  • Proof of vaccination – Any CQC regulated environment, including care homes and NHS, will need a clear system to prove they are monitoring contractors. Medaco has responded to this with an automated email, sent the day before our engineers arrive for planned preventative maintenance. Giving you one less thing to worry about. This includes:
    • Photograph of the engineer
    • DBS Number
    • Proof of double vaccination
    • Engineers will also show proof through the official NHS app on arrival.
  • Additional PPE Throughout this time we continue to issue additional supplies of PPE to our field service engineers to reduce the risk of infection to your staff, service users and our engineers. These include gloves, face masks, aprons, coveralls, face shields, hand sanitiser and disinfectant. All engineers will adhere to the rules of the site they visit.
  • Parts and spares We are working to increase the stocks of commonly used spare parts on engineers’ vans to further increase our first fix rate. Coupled with this, we are also helping clients to implement a spend threshold on sites where engineers can change parts up to a certain value. These measures will reduce the need for return visits and the risk of additional unnecessary exposure.
  • Additional training and briefings We are providing regular training and briefing sessions with our field service engineers to ensure they are up to date with any regulations or procedures that affect their work and any changes that may come.
  • COVID-19 testing for engineers – Medaco recognises that regular testing is vital in containing the virus so engineers are regularly testing with Lateral Flow Tests. We are willing to comply with all necessary entry requirements, just let us know in advance.
  • Updating Coronavirus protocols The guidance and advice from the Government, PHE, WHO, NHS and HSE are constantly changing. Medaco will continue to closely follow and monitor the guidelines and update our protocols accordingly. These can be made available on request to support@medaco.co.uk
  • Site-specific risk assessments Engineers and our service teams have been briefed on the procedures to follow prior to each site visit. These include a risk assessment from both the site and the engineer, as well as regular checks and updates once a visit has been scheduled.

Continuing service and LOLER Inspections through COVID-19

Your equipment plays a critical part in the care and safety of your patients and we understand the frustration and disruption equipment downtime can cause. By putting the above measures in place and working closely with our customers, we want to reassure you that all our operations are currently continuing as normal.

We understand the importance of the work we carry out and that the HSE have advised that the regulatory LOLER inspections must still be carried out. We are taking every possible step to ensure we can continue to attend in these challenging times but we do ask that if you have a suspected case of Coronavirus, that you make our Service Team aware prior to the visit. They will be able to walk you through our protocol and complete a risk assessment before our visit to ensure all parties are comfortable with the precautions in place. If you have any questions or concerns relating to this matter please email support@medaco.co.uk

Finally, we would like to thank every single one of our incredible customers who continue to support and care for people in our communities through these times.

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Testimonials

“Medaco as a whole has been incredibly supportive and accommodating throughout this whole thing!”

“Experience has been excellent so far. The engineer who came out was very professional, polite and all H&S followed”

“We always have good service; engineers are friendly and helpful and are brilliant regarding PPE protection which not all contractors are, and it makes a huge difference”

“The engineer was polite and friendly, conformed to our COVID guidelines and came prepared with all the relevant PPE, keep up the good work”

 “He was a star, polite, good as gold, and came with all his PPE”