SASA Congress, South Africa

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In August, our South African distributor Manta Medical, exhibited at the SASA Congress in Cape Town – a joint conference with healthcare professionals in stoma therapy, Colorectal and Gastro.

At the Congress we launched eakin Perform™ and eakin Cohesive® Paste and were also joint sponsors of the SASA dinner on the opening evening, held at Ratanga Junction Theme Park.

Jeremy Eakin, who attended the Congress, said, “This was an excellent conference to attend and we were extremely pleased to be able to sponsor the opening dinner for SASA (The South African Stomal Therapy Association). The South African Stomal Therapy nurses do a wonderful job dealing with such a diverse range of patients. They face additional challenges not experienced in other countries such as the extreme number of trauma wounds and the high incidence of AIDS and HIV Positive patients. In South Africa there is a lower rate of stoma patients compared to other European and North American countries, however they have more than their share of high output fistulas and wounds. SASA should be very proud of their patient care, dedication and achievements”.

Pictured: Elize Fouche from Manta Medical and Jeremy Eakin at the SASA Congress.

ECET 2009 Review

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TG Eakin Limited had another successful year at ECET in Porto earlier this summer. On display we had our extensive range of Pelican Pouches, Wound Pouches and the Cohesive® range.

As always we received a lot of positive feedback on the products and it is great to hear first-hand how the products are being used and the subsequent benefits for the patients. Of particular interest to nurses were the Paediatric and Convex Pelican Pouches.

Our competition to win a ‘Trip to Ireland’ was very well received and the lucky winner was Claudia Tienderen from Holland who came to visit us whilst on her visit to Northern Ireland in October.

Pictured: Competition winners Claudia Van Tienderen and Elma Faasse visit TG Eakin Ltd.

Australian Case Study Competition

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Yet again, we are extremely grateful to the Australian ET nurses, in conjunction with our distributors Omnigon, for their outstanding collection of case studies.

Competition entries were written during the last few months and the final list of case studies has been selected and is available, with numerous other studies.

All case studies illustrate how helpful Cohesive® was to the nurse and the patient. Case studies cover a broad range of topics such as:

  • Management of Radiation Damaged Skin
  • Increasing Appliance Weartime
  • Caring for a Loop Ileostomy
  • Healing of Damaged Skin
  • Management of an Ulcer Close to a Stoma
  • Managment of a Stoma Near a Wound
  • Ostomy Care – Urostomy
  • Wound Pouches, Cohesive® and VAC Therapy.

North European Distributors’ Meeting

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Thank you to our North European Distributors, Arja Airosto, Juha Saukkonen, Kaj Lund, Maud Jägerman and Wim Rust, who made their way through the snow to join us for a distributors’ meeting.

We were sorry that our Norwegian distributor Medeco could not attend and hope they will come to visit us when the opportunity arises.

We had a full programme of activities over the 2 days, ranging from company updates, tour of the factory, R&D, marketing and business development workshops. The meeting was not ‘all work and no play’; our guests enjoyed sampling some local seafood and an authentic ‘black taxi’ tour of Belfast.

The meeting was designed to be interactive. From our side, we wanted to share our innovation and our vision for TG Eakin Limited for the years to come. We sought to gain input on market and product feedback and provide a forum for our distributors to exchange their ideas for best practice.

These suggestions were all gratefully received and we will be putting considerable emphasis on developing these areas of our business.

Arab Health – TG Eakin venture to the Middle East

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TG Eakin Limited were one of only three companies in Northern Ireland to have a stand at the largest gathering of healthcare professionals in the Middle East.

TG Eakin Limited were one of only three companies in Northern Ireland to have a stand at the largest gathering of healthcare professionals in the Middle East. The event attracted more than 45,000 healthcare professionals from 65 countries.

The conference, held in Dubai’s World Trade Centre, was a great opportunity to showcase our ostomy and femcare products and to meet with potential distributors.

Jeremy Eakin and Stuart Menary were accompanied by Sue Hunter and Rachel Butson from our sister company Pelican Healthcare.

Advice for Ostomates on Active Living and Hernias

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Adrian March MA PhD has been a trustee of the Colostomy Association since its formation, and has now become Consultant to the Association.

He has had a colostomy for ten years, as a consequence of ano-rectal cancer. Adrian now lives in the south of France, in Provence, and maintains contact with the Colostomy Association, and with patients who are referred to him, almost entirely via the internet.

By profession a consultant in engineering research, he has also for many years, as a tutor of the Amateur Swimming Association and of the National Coaching Foundation, taught and trained teachers in swimming, diving, and aqua aerobics, and lectured to sports coaches on anatomy, physiology, and the technique of coaching children. His own sport may be a unique one for an ostomate: powerlifting.

Adrian writes and maintains two websites, both dedicated to providing practical advice to ostomates through a range of Technical Notes, but particularly angled towards physical activity, participation in sport, and the problems of hernias. The principal site for the English speaking world is stomadata.com, which includes also some simple healthy eating recipes and a Young Ostomates page, but there is a sister site, stoma.fr, which contains much of the same content, but is slowly being developed into a bilingual site in English and French, because French speaking ostomates do not appear to be as well provided with information as the English. Both sites offer users the opportunity to email Adrian with questions regarding their problems, and to suggest additional subjects which they would like to see treated.

WCET Review 2008

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Many thanks go to all of you who visited our stand during the congress. As usual, it was a pleasure to see you and to have the chance to discuss our products.

At this time we would like to announce our competition winners; Kathi Chiara from Switzerland (pictured left) and Katica Babic from Croatia. Both winners won a traditional Irish prize; a bottle of Baileys and two Irish crystal glasses.

During the congress we launched Perform, the NEW pouch control sachet that converts stoma output to gel. Greater control of pouch content, reduced leakage, noise and bulging are among the benefits as well as ease of emptying and disposal.

Particular interest was shown in Cohesive® Paste, a stoma paste from the Cohesive® family which can be used to fill in scars or skin folds. Cohesive® Slims and Seals can of course be used in combination with this product.

Pelican Pouches in convex and paediatric forms are an exciting new addition to the stoma care range from TG Eakin Ltd. The convex pouches offer soft, flexible and comfortable convexity and conform to the needs of each individual stoma. The paediatric pouches have been designed with children in mind and offer kind and gentle care for young skin. All drainable pouches in the range boast the Pelican Pouches’ Clipless Closure, which allows quick and easy emptying.

For more information on any of our products please visit our product section.

Encouraging Enterprise in Young People

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Sixth Form Business Studies students from Priory Integrated College, Holywood, Northern Ireland were invited to T.G. Eakin Ltd in Comber to find out how this local company has become such a successful exporter of medical devices.

The students were interested to learn all about the company’s products and particularly what issues need to be considered when initiating an export strategy.

The trip started with a tour of the factory where all the medical devices are manufactured. Students were amazed at the large volumes of goods produced for export and were impressed at high standards of hygiene evident throughout the production process.

Following the tour of the factory, the students learned about the growth of the company over its 30 year existence from the business development team. The organisational structure, the recent expansion through the acquisition of Pelican Healthcare and the Research and Development facilities were all explained to students.

The Managing Director, Jeremy Eakin, shared his ‘tips and hints’ for success. These included financial, business and exporting advice. “Know your customers well – visit the market as often as possible and speak to ‘real’ business people for assistance and advice”.

Deirdre Scarlett, the Business Studies teacher, was delighted that her students were able to learn about global trading from a local company just prior to their ‘A’ level exams. “This helps brings the theory to life for these young people at a crucial point in their education.”

Cohesive® Advantage Competition

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During the ECET Congress in Salzburg earlier this year, staff at the Eakin Stand ran a competition on the Cohesive® Advantage.

Q: What enzymes that are harmful to the skin does Cohesive® inhibit?
A: Elastase and Lipase.

Q: What 3 ways does Cohesive® stop skin excoriation?
A: Absorbs water, reduces enzyme activity and physically blocks both biological and chemical irritants from coming into contact with the skin.

Staff at TG Eakin Limited were very pleased to welcome Sylvia, together with a colleague from KKH-Lörrach – Stephanie Schöneberg-Opalka (pictured above) – at the end of September. They had a tour of the TG Eakin Limited factory and were very impressed with the high quality and hygiene standards present.

The beautiful Culloden Hotel and the city of Belfast were further highlights of the trip; the ladies thoroughly enjoyed their stay in Northern Ireland.