Midlands firm wins Australian hospital contract

Oct 14 2009 by Jon Griffin, Birmingham Post

An innovative Worcestershire company has won contracts worth over £400,000 to protect hospital staff in Australia – with help from UK Trade & Investment.

Guardian Staff Safety Systems, of Vale Business Park, Evesham, provides, installs and maintains electronic-based systems in buildings such as mental health hospitals, custodial suites and airports, where staff are potentially at risk from attacks in the workplace.

The company joined UK Trade & Investment’s flagship Passport to Export programme, which helps firms develop their export business, in July 2008.

After providing a trial system for appraisal at a mental health ward at Bentley Hospital, Perth, Western Australia, last year, the company was invited to tender for providing a system for almost the entire hospital, including external areas.

The systems incorporate the very latest technical developments, with call logging and “front end” graphics packages.

The Guardian bids were the most competitive, but the company was asked to demonstrate long-term commitment to its activities in Australia, as the systems are installed into the infrastructure of the building and maintained for the life of the building.

Over several months, Guardian was able to achieve this and won the contract, together with a further order for Rockingham Hospital, Western Australia.

The total value of these contracts is approximately £400,000 and the company estimates further business in Australia will be worth up to £3 million over the next year.

Managing director Granville Shaw said: “On satisfactory completion of the Bentley installation, which is expected imminently, the contract for Freemantle Hospital will be placed with the company.

“We are currently expanding into other states in Australia and have received inquiries in the market from a wide variety of industries where there are security issues for staff in the workplace.”