Scottish PPE firm Alpha Solway honour NHS Scotland heroes with new ‘People’s Choice’ award

Scottish PPE firm Alpha Solway honour NHS Scotland heroes with new ‘People’s Choice’ award

Leading Scottish PPE firm Alpha Solway is to honour NHS Scotland’s unsung heroes of the Covid 19 pandemic.

The safety equipment manufacturer, part of the Globus Group, will be celebrating the extraordinary work of NHS Scotland staff, social care staff and carers in responding to coronavirus with their ‘People’s Choice’ award at the Scottish Health Awards. Seven finalists have been selected, and the winner of a public vote will be announced on 9^th December 2020.

Lisa Lynas from the Scottish Health Awards comments, “Alpha Solway were the perfect choice to sponsor our new People’s Choice award. They have been supporting NHS Scotland and healthcare workers throughout the pandemic, and have moved even more of their manufacturing to Scotland this year, creating hundreds of new jobs. This award is recognising the excellence and dedication of Scotland’s healthcare workers, so it made sense for us to partner with a Scottish company that is so committed to our healthcare system.”

Operations Director, Sherree Gracie, comments, “We are thrilled to be able to show our support and appreciation for the incredible responses to the COVID-19 pandemic from NHS Scotland workers across the country. All of our finalists have demonstrated truly outstanding dedication and commitment to caring for their communities at this difficult time.”

She continues, “Alpha Solway has been proud to support NHS Scotland throughout the pandemic, and thanks to a £53 million contract announced by Nicola Sturgeon in August, we are going to meet the PPE demand for Scotland’s health and social care sectors until Summer 2021.”

The seven finalists range from an acute medicine consultant in Glasgow to a student nurse in Forth valley to a care support team serving 23 inhabited islands. 

Alpha Solway is part of the Globus Group which has over a 25 year history of producing PPE equipment for healthcare and industry.

Alpha Solway has been producing large quantities of high-quality FFP3 face masks, which offer the highest level of protection against viruses and bacteria, at its Scottish factories in Dumfriesshire throughout the pandemic. It has also recently signed a £53 million contract with NHS Scotland, which will include a further six million FFP3 masks, as well as 232 million surgical masks and 2 million visors.

Commenting on the Alpha Solway NHS Scotland contract, the Minister for Trade, Investment and Innovation Ivan McKee said, “This is fantastic news for Dumfriesshire and for NHS Scotland. It is great that this substantial PPE order will be supplied by Scottish firm Alpha Solway.”

“It delivers significant savings to the NHS as well as supporting vital jobs – both at Alpha Solway and at other Scottish businesses in their supply chain - and demonstrates that Scottish business is cost competitive on a global stage.”

“The order also highlights that the proactive work undertaken during lockdown to bolster the COVID-19 supply chain is continuing to deliver real benefits in the form of higher employment, increased manufacturing activity and savings for our NHS.”