Portsmouth Ambulance Crew to the rescue

When BOC was preparing a brochure on its brand new cylinder developments for the ambulance service, including its lightweight 300 bar 1 litre and 2 litre oxygen cylinders, it wanted to ensure that the document had a sense of authenticity about it. Staff at Portsmouth Ambulance Station, part of South Central Ambulance Service NHS Trust, offered to help and at the same time raised £600 for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance.

With medical technologies developing at an ever-increasing rate, it is important for suppliers like BOC to explain to potential customers how the new products and services can make a real difference. The 1 litre cylinder, for example, will be available from January 2009 and will be the lightest in the market, weighing in at just 1.5 kg when full. They say a picture is worth a thousand words and seeing how things are used in practice certainly makes the point more clearly.

BOC Account Manager Melanie Baird, explained what happened: "We wanted to make sure that we gave an accurate representation of how the equipment could be used. So we contacted South Central Ambulance Service NHS Trust for help. They were able to put us in contact with Portsmouth."

Terri Johnson, Assistant Procurement Manager at South Central, continued: "Staff at Portsmouth Ambulance Station were happy to help in this project. They gave up their free time to assist. It was a win-win situation: BOC have a first rate publication and the chosen charity of the Ambulance Station - the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance - has received a £600 donation."

Melanie Baird concluded: "We are very happy with the result. The ambulance crew were extremely professional and we are very grateful to them for giving their time and energy to this project."