Nathan Flanigan, Senior Project Engineer, with some of Talisman’s crucial clinical waste ties

Malvern-based Talisman Plastics, an injection moulding specialist, has boosted its production capability to manufacture an estimated 32 million clinical waste ties over the last year, destined for 50% of NHS Trusts across the UK.

Any clinical waste collected on a hospital ward is sealed with a waste tag printed with its own unique number so that it can be identified and it origins traced back, fulfilling all legal requirements.

James Mulvale, business development manager at Talisman Plastics, said: “During the peak of the pandemic, understandably, every NHS Trust we supply wanted to maintain a full stock of clinical waste ties.

“Thanks to the increase in our production capacity, we were able to meet a monthly order of 30,000 of our Taliloc product, on a reduced lead time, to ensure it was received as quickly as possible.”

A monthly standing order is sent directly from Talisman’s Malvern plant to Dorset County Hospital, in Dorchester, which the company has been supplying since 2015.

Ross Cumber, category manager at Dorset County Hospital, said: “We have a monthly standing order for 15,000 ties which are delivered to the hospital’s front door. Talisman have been great, quickly responding to any issues and are flexible with our order if there are busier periods in the hospital. They are a key part of our inventory as without them consigning clinical waste would not be possible.”

“During the pandemic there was a massive shift from what we considered to be ‘business as usual’ hospital operations — we suddenly had to source a lot of machinery and goods, to ensure the hospital was kitted out and ready to treat patients in a different way.”

Mr Cumber added: “The guidance on classifying waste changed, which meant a lot more was going into clinical waste bags. This therefore increased the volume and number of waste ties required, but despite this curveball we had faith in Talisman Plastics that it would continue to deliver in its normal reliable way.”

The main supply of Talisman products to hospitals and surgeries is its waste ties, but its security seals are also used to protect medication in resuscitation trolleys, which needs to be stored securely but quickly accessed by medical staff.

Two of Talisman’s 27 machine cells are dedicated to producing this vital NHS equipment. The company recently teamed up with Intouch, implementing pioneering cloud-based software that facilitates 24/7 production.

A five-year investment project leading into the pandemic was brought forward to rapidly deploy brand new machinery to the factory floor. The operational efficiency in creating the NHS-bound seals is 95% but this target has been matched and even surpassed over recent months.

Shaun Champion, Talisman Plastics managing director, said: “I am really happy that Talisman rose to the challenge of heightened NHS demand during the coronavirus pandemic. We are proud of being part of the NHS supply chain, and really happy to be able to supply these important items especially at a time when the whole healthcare industry really needs them.”