Reflections on Two Decades: A Journey with Welland Medical

I, Sandhya Shah, started at Welland in 2003 as a temp for about 6 months and then took a permanent position on 5th January 2004. I have grown and experienced so much in these 20 years, professionally as well as personally.

“I feel lucky to be working with such supportive mentors and managers during my time at Welland and have mostly felt heard and supported during these difficult times, for this I am thankful.” Sandhya Shah

Read more about Sandhya’s story ……

The People Behind the Bag

n 1998, we started with a simple aspiration to enhance people’s lives and a strong desire to innovate. Today, we are a global business with over 250 colleagues based in Crawley, England where we create and manufacture our ostomy products, with a presence in over 40 countries around the world.

With 35 years of expertise, knowledge, and skill, we have continued to learn, develop new products, and adapt to new technologies to continually improve our processes to deliver the highest quality of stoma care products to our customers.

As we continue to support our colleagues, our Global Partners, and those living with a stoma we will continue to embody what makes Welland: enhancing people’s lives every day.

Discover our story ………..

Welland Medical’s Proud Partnership with St Catherine’s Hospice

t Welland Medical, we’re proud to support local communities and charities.

One of our chosen local charities to support is St Catherine’s Hospice. For several years, we’ve sponsored this fantastic organisation, and our collaboration reached a new milestone as we were honoured to be invited to the pre-opening event of their new home in Pease Pottage, Crawley. The event was a special occasion, where Giles Tomsett, CEO of St Catherine’s Hospice, gave a strong speech emphasising the great work the hospice carries out and the urgent need to maintain funds to keep their important work going.

Collaborating with St Catherine’s Hospice aligns with  our core values and we are proud of our continued commitment to supporting our local community. We look forward to continuing our partnership and helping support St Catherine’s Hospice to provide a positive impact to those who require end-of-life care.

Innovating Ostomy Care:
The Power of Research and Development

World Creativity and Innovation Day is a global event that happens on April 21st each year as a way to celebrate, promote and encourage creative thinking and innovation across various industries. At Welland Medical, creativity and innovation are at the heart of what we do. This year’s World Creativity and Innovation Day, we are focusing on the contributions from our Research and Development (R&D) department.

Our R&D team consists of skilled engineers and designers who work hard and are committed to developing innovative ostomy products that meet the diverse needs of our customers by continuing to innovate and enhance our products. By staying at the forefront of technology and medical advancements, we are able to continually explore the boundaries of ostomy care, making a positive impact on the lives of those living with a stoma worldwide. Our blog post explores how we hone in on our team’s creativity and innovative spirit to help create the high-quality products you know today.

Team Colostomy UK Sponsorship

We are thrilled to announce that Welland Medical is the official physio and hydration partner for Team Colostomy for 2023!

As part of our partnership, our branding will appear on the team’s brand-new water bottles, as well as on the support staff t-shirts as a sign of our ongoing support for the team. This partnership is about more than just business – it’s about supporting a community of people who are doing incredible things. We are honoured to be a part of that community and to help make a difference.

Team Colostomy UK is an inspiring group of individuals who are dedicated to raising awareness and breaking down stigmas around ostomy surgery. It is an initiative that aims to inspire and empower people that live with a stoma to take on new challenges to live their life to the full.

Henry Smith MP visits Welland Medical!

We recently welcomed Crawley MP Henry Smith to Welland Medical HQ to showcase how we operate as a British manufacturer and share an insight into how the current economy may have impacted us.

During the tour, Mr Smith was able to see first-hand how our team of expert engineers and technicians use advanced technology and processes to create high-quality stoma bags and accessories that are comfortable, discreet and secure.

How are CliniMed stoma pouches made?

Welland Medical Ltd – one of the CliniMed Group of companies – manufactures CliniMed stoma pouches for distribution all over the world; delivered to customers’ doors by home delivery services, including SecuriCare.

In this short interview, Welland explain how they develop and manufacture innovative products that are designed to suit the needs of people living with a stoma.

Welland Board Update

We are pleased to announce that Sarah Duckworth, formally Head of Engineering, has joined the Welland Medical Board as Operations and Engineering Director.

Sarah joined Welland with a wealth of knowledge and experience behind her. We caught up with her to discuss her new venture and time at Welland.

Welland Stepped Up for Stomas!

Throughout September, the team at Welland took part in Colostomy UK’s ‘Step Up for Stoma’s’ challenge to help raise awareness of stomas and those living with one.

In the UK there are 160,000 people currently living with a stoma and Colostomy UK, a charity that supports and empowers those living with stomas, challenged individuals to take a step for every one of them.

Here at Welland the team were more than up for the challenge, putting their best foot forward and started counting their steps.

The Step Up for Stomas team consisted of seven people from the business all from different departments, including Marketing, Purchasing, Manufacturing, Sales and Finance.

Encouraging and motivating each other, the team went on lunch time walks and even had some competitive step counting, helping each individual reach their target.

The New Era of Events

Over the last year like many companies, we adapted to the changing environment around us. With face-to-face meetings becoming a distant memory and video calls the new ‘normal’, we had to adapt.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we were unable to hold our annual Global Partner Meeting last year but thought innovatively this year. We worked alongside an external production agency, The Outlook Creative Group who specialise in live production events to plan for our first ever virtual meeting.

Looking back on our first virtual event, we were able to reach over 200 attendees throughout 30 countries and it enabled us to continue sharing best practice in supporting both Health Care Professionals and people who live with stomas across the world.