A Hereford firm has partnered with a Welsh doctor to create a new medical aid - which has been acquired the NHS and could improve the lives of up to 90,000 NHS patients across the country.

The duomed soft 2easy is the subject of a collaboration leading Hereford-based medical supplier, medi UK and between Dr Robert Lister of the nearby Wrexham Maelor Hospital.

Drawing on his many years in the clinical field, Dr Lister, recognised a worrying trend amongst patients failing to wear the compression devices needed to manage vascular conditions and chronic oedema.

Talking to patients, many elderly, he found that a big issue was that the compressive nature of the standard one-piece garments supplied made them very difficult to put on or take off, especially for those who struggled to bend down or had dexterity issues.

In response, Dr Lister decided to invent a two-piece system which can be more simply manoeuvred over a patient’s foot, thereby making application and removal much easier.

But he needed a supplier with the resource and expertise to make it a reality – cue the arrival of local medical supplier - medi UK.

Four years later, the patented duomed soft 2easy product has been developed and fast-tracked to market by medi UK and received NHS backing.

Already available on the NHS, the product becomes available for NHS prescription on 1st December 2021.

This important breakthrough comes amid increased focus on the National Wound Care Strategy programme in a bid improve healing rates and ensure better experience of care for people living with wounds, while, in turn, driving cost-efficiencies. Wound care in England is thought to cost approximately £8.3 billion per annum.

Talking of the rationale behind the invention, Dr Lister said: “Unfortunately, over the years I’ve seen so many cases of patients living with chronic wounds which are unable to heal and continue to get worse. In the worst case scenario, this can lead to a badly smelling open wound which can be incredibly embarrassing and isolating, while severely impacting quality of life - not to mention the constant trips back and forth to the GP.

“Inherently, the problem is that the compression wear used to address these issues is hard to put on, particularly for those who are less able, meaning it just hasn’t been used.

“duomed soft 2easy changes this. It sounds so simple, but the fact that it is a two-piece rather than a singular garment makes it so much easier to get over the foot and past the ankle. Having, of course, tried it out amongst endless patients of varying capabilities, it’s safe to say it’s the easiest compression wear garment I’ve come across.”

From inception through to delivery of the first batch of products to the NHS, duomed soft 2easy took four years to come to market.

Key to this was the ongoing support of partner, medi UK who worked closely with Dr Lister to provide the resources, expertise and manufacturing capabilities needed to take the concept to market.

Andy Holman, business development manager at medi UK added: “Here at medi UK, we believe that fostering a start-up spirit is important no matter how large and successful your business – which is why we always go to such great lengths to nurture innovation and new ideas amongst the medical community.

“From the offset, we knew that Dr Lister’s concept was an incredibly innovative one which could revolutionise the ease of compression wear and drastically improve the quality of life for thousands of people across the country living with these types of conditions. We are therefore incredibly proud to have been able to help get it over the line and to the market so quickly and look forward to its mainstream adoption.”