A local transport company has stepped in to help distribute Personal Protective Equipment to NHS and care staff throughout the West. Derek Milner and his team at Intransit Removals and Storage – based at Sells Green in Seend – have been delivering vital equipment including face masks, gloves and antibacterial products to hospitals and other care centres. Here Melksham News speaks to Derek.
Hi Derek, we understand you’ve been delivering PPE equipment, can you tell us about that?
When the COVID-19 issues really kicked in, getting the PPE out to NHS and care staff became a real issue. A truck load was delivered into an NHS Office complex in Swindon and we completed two days doing multi drops from there all over the South West to health centres and hospitals in Melksham, Trowbridge, Westbury, Devizes, Chippenham, Pewsey, Swindon, and Bath. We have also moved patient hospital beds from Chippenham to Warminster within the past week or so.
What sort of equipment and how much have you delivered?
Face masks, gloves and antibacterial products; in total it’s hard to say how much, but each location was similar to the drop we made to St James Surgery in Devizes – 87 boxes of facemasks, 10x boxes of large gloves (100 per box), 10x medium and 10x small boxes, 4x boxes of 100 aprons, 6x safety visors, 4x bottles of hand sanitiser.
What made you get involved?
It was a very natural thing for me to do and will do it again when the phone rings, which I feel it will do quite soon. As a local transport company we were in an ideal position to help.
It must be really difficult trying to keep your business going.
Nearly impossible!! It has been extremely trying – and far from over yet!! Like many companies, everything has stopped, I personally ensure that things are answered still so am on hand seven days a week to answer calls and emails. All our transport has in effect virtually stopped but the health and wellbeing of everyone is still paramount,. When we are working, we use the gloves and suggested masks and ensure the work is completed with more staff and vehicles than normal – cost does not really come into it. All I am trying to ensure is that when this is finished we are still able to trade, something which of course is unknown to us all as things stand.
How are you and your staff all coping?
Well at its peak we ran 16 vehicles & 22 staff; when Brexit started this affected the company massively, then followed by this pandemic was nearly unreal, to the point I am not sure how we have managed to stay doing what we do. We are now down to 5 staff & 7 vehicles of which just 5 are on the road – BUT the aim for the future if possible is the employ more people again.
