Lowara staff react on Sunday morning to keep cancer unit running
Paul Shute, variable-speed drive specialist for Xylem Lowara UK reacted immediately when he received a call that an inpatient care unit in Somerset was without heating and hot water — even though it was Sunday morning. To get the necessary replacement for the Beacon Centre, he alerted his colleague Stuart Ellis, a member of Xylem Lowara’s service team, to unlock the company’s headquarters at Axminster in Devon to get the required pumps and variable-speed drives and drive them in his own estate car to the Beacon Centre.
Paul Shute explains, ‘Being Sunday morning, I knew that the only way to get the equipment to the unit was to drive it there myself. The Beacon Centre cares for people overnight, and cold weather was forecast for later that day. I also knew that come Monday morning, day patients would be arriving for radiotherapy and chemotherapy, which wouldn’t be able to go ahead if the heating and hot water were not working.’
Having driven for nearly an hour, he was able to work with the contractor and site managers to return the centre to full working order.
Mike Coombe, site supervisor for Vinci Facilities, which runs the centre, said, ‘Paul, along with the contractors who worked on site, really did go above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that our staff could continue to offer the very best care possible for our patients. It is re-assuring to know that we have the right people on side for emergencies such as this.
