Company insight
Putting patient safety first in packaging
In the tangled jungle that is the medical packaging industry, packaging manufacturers have to balance many concerns, and sustainability is increasingly high on the agenda. Nevertheless, the protection of patients and medical staff must always come first. We speak to Dr Andreas Brans, head of the medical industry business unit at VP Medical Packaging, to explore how to meet this challenge.
easy to take one’s eye off other priorities, but in the medical sector this cannot be allowed to happen. Just as with clinicians, for packaging suppliers patient safety it the summum bonum – the highest good and ultimate goal. “We have always been interested in putting the emphasis on patient safety, though we discuss the environmental situation a lot in the packaging sector,” explains Dr Andreas Brans, head of the medical industry business unit at VP Medical Packaging. “Patient safety is the most important thing, and the impact of our industry on the climate is of a lower priority.
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“Patients and medical staff must know that the products they are using are very highly protected by our packaging,” he adds. “The safety of the patient is always the most important aspect of what we do, and protecting the medical device from dust, bacteria, infections or damage is how we achieve that. We don’t believe there is any reason to change our emphasis on patient safety.”
A question of priorities
VP Medical Packaging is part of a group with business units across Europe, and its goal is to provide customised medical packaging solutions for both B2B customers across the globe – the developers of medical devices, tools and drug treatments – and B2C hospital clients, which buy products from the company’s existing inventory. “The B2B side is bespoke packaging solutions for each customer, so we work out what mix of materials is needed, whether it is a simple product or a highly
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s concerns over the environment pervade all aspects of the packaging industry, it would be
sophisticated device such as a replacement knee,” remarks Brans. “It is important to be in close contact with the customer to understand what is required from the packaging and what the product needs. We also need to understand the transportation of the product so we can address any mechanical problems that might occur during transit to the end user.”
environmental concerns completely. In fact, VP Group prides itself on operating as an ecologically sustainable company. For example, any unavoidable emissions are fully compensated by internationally recognised emission-reduction certificates. “We must look at the future and find out what raw materials are best in medical packaging,” Brans continues,
“Packaging material must be new, as it cannot be used a second time, and we cannot use recycled material in new packaging because we cannot risk any deterioration in quality or performance.”
The early discussions that identify a
client’s needs and ultimately determine the nature of the packaging are focused intently on how to protect the item being shipped so that it arrives in perfect condition, and on how that packaging solution will be usable in a safe and efficient way for the patient or the clinician.
There are no preconceptions about what material, or which design might be suitable. Everything is defined by the needs of the product being shipped and by the parameters of patient safety. “There is a big range of high-quality materials from which the best solution can be designed,” says Brans. “When we speak about the safety of patients – and of nurses and doctors – we mean that they must have good, safe packaging so that they do not injure themselves when taking out the medical device and using it for treatment.”
No neglect for the environment Nevertheless, that does not mean that medical packaging manufacturers ignore
noting that recyclable packaging material must consist of mono-materials in order to function in the recycling process. “In the past, when we spoke about the choice of materials,” he continues, “there was far less focus on the environment in the industry, as performance was the only consideration. Recycling is very important, though not as much as in the food industry. In medical packaging there is a risk that materials might be infected with the patient’s blood, for example, so it can’t be reused in the same way because of the potentially high risk of infection. Furthermore, packaging material must be new, as it cannot be used a second time, and we cannot use recycled material in new packaging because we cannot risk any deterioration in quality or performance.”
In the medical sector, there is no question of any disregard for the environment, but the summum bonum is patient safety, and always will be. ●
www.vp-group.de Medical Device Developments /
www.nsmedicaldevices.com
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