Sky Medical Technology
UK-based medical device manufacturer Firstkind Ltd, a subsidiary of Sky Medical Technology Ltd, has announced the company's geko device is available through the UK NHS Supply Chain. The Supply Chain manages the sourcing, delivery and supply of healthcare products and services for NHS trusts and healthcare organisations across England and Wales.
This listing further expands the supply channels available to the NHS when ordering the geko device, which the manufacturer says is an effective, needed treatment for patients across the UK suffering from hard-to-heal wounds and means that wound care settings, NHS staff, publicly funded organisations and hospitals can now more easily purchase this highly effective therapy.
The geko device is a small, self-adhesive, wearable neuromuscular electro stimulator that is applied to the surface of the skin just below the knee, over the head of the fibula bone. It delivers a gentle electrical pulse, once per second to the common peroneal nerve, activating the calf and foot muscle pumps, increasing venous, arterial and microvascular flow, thus transporting oxygenated blood to the wound bed and edge to accelerate wound healing, effectively replicating the effects of exercise.
The International Wound Journal (IWJ) recently published the landmark multi-centre randomised self-controlled trial (RCT) showing the positive effects of adding geko devices to the care pathway. The study compared standard of care (SoC) with and without the geko device in patients with hard-to-heal venous leg ulcers (VLUs) and reports an acceleration in the rate of healing by more than double in patients treated with the geko device versus SoC alone - bringing new hope to patients suffering long-standing chronic wounds.
The results also show the geko device is well tolerated with 94% patient concordance. The study adds to the body of evidence demonstrating the geko device improves both patient outcomes and quality of life, while providing a positive reduction in the environmental impact of patient care and a substantial cost saving to the NHS.
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“We’re delighted to be listed on the NHS Supply Chain,” said Bernard Ross, CEO and Founder of Sky Medical Technology. “Our mission is to end the misery of hard-to-heal wounds and to transform patient lives. Key to this is ensuring the geko device is widely available and easy to order, allowing wound care clinicians to direct their precious time and resources to patient care.”
Approximately 3.8 million adults in the UK suffer with a wound. Many are hard-to-heal and, despite following best practice, wound healing can be prolonged or often never achieved. Patients experience pain, anxiety, altered body image and isolation, leaving many without hope of improvement, suffering wound infections and recurrence.
The financial burden of non-healing wounds on hard pressed healthcare systems is also huge, higher than for cancer and cardiovascular disease. The annual NHS cost to manage wounds is 8.3 billion GBP annually. An estimated 85% of wound care costs relate to nursing and home visits rather than the wound dressing itself.
Through doubling the rate of wound healing, compelling cost consequence data shows the geko device reduces both nurse home visits and wound dressings use, releasing significant NHS cost savings and a reduced carbon footprint - alongside a corresponding increase of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs).
Fiona Young, Wound Therapy Business Director at Firstkind Ltd, comments: “Introducing change to clinical practice and new models of care is the greatest opportunity we have to reduce NHS costs and carbon emissions. The transformative geko device delivers on both these fronts. Through its faster wound healing and empowering patients to self-care and share-their-care with family members and healthcare professionals - in the home setting - the geko device optimises wound care pathways, reducing nurse travel, products used and waste generated. Now with this wider access, through the NHS Supply Chain, geko device ease of ordering will further help NHS wound care nurses reduce the time managing wounds.”
