Mercy Mission: Cadent volunteers undertake 200 mile plus round trips from Norwich to Luton to deliver vital medications amid lockdown courier shortage

helping our community

  • Cadent volunteers from Norwich help deliver medications to Luton and Dunstable University Hospital
  • Two consignments of vital dialysis medication for patients suffering kidney failure have so far been delivered in 200 mile plus round trips
  • Volunteers were utilising Cadent scheme to give employees two days additional paid leave to undertake voluntary work to assist national coronavirus effort 
     
    Norwich based volunteers from Britain’s biggest gas distribution network Cadent have undertaken 200-mile plus medicine runs to deliver vital medications to a hospital in Bedfordshire.
     
    The current coronavirus pandemic is placing an extraordinary demand on delivery services and couriers, which sometimes has serious side effects.
     
    Cadent Technical Specialist Matt Kitchin, who is based at the firm’s Norwich depot and is also a local scout volunteer, explained: “I heard from a fellow Scout volunteer that the Luton and Dunstable University Hospital needed fresh supplies of Haemodialysis fluid for patients suffering kidney failure.
     
    “However, they were struggling to get new stocks of the medicine due to a shortage of couriers caused by a spike in demand for delivery services caused by the lockdown.”
     
    Matt, together with colleagues Neil Wardell and Gary Smith, decided to take action and help out,
     
    Utilising a recently announced Cadent scheme to give all employees two additional days of paid leave a month to help out in the national coronavirus effort, the three secured time off and the use of a Cadent van.
     
    So far the three have delivered a total of 45 boxes each containing 30 litres of the vital medication, picking it up from the local Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and transporting it via a 200-mile plus round trip to the Luton and Dunstable Hospital.
     
    Peter Wilson, Cadent Head of Customer Operations, who agreed the volunteering request from the three,  said: “This is just one example of the many ways our staff have been helping out across our network since we launched the new volunteering scheme.
     
    “It builds on our strong record of volunteering which has seen our employees directly help over 128,000 people since August 2019.”
     
    Cadent launched the new volunteering initiative earlier this month in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
     
    The scheme will initially run throughout this month and May, after which it will be reviewed, based on the latest Government advice and the success of the first two months.
     
    The scheme is in addition to the new statutory Employee Volunteering Leave brought in by the Coronavirus Act 2020, which is targeted at workers who have suitable medical or social care skills and experience and can support health and social care organisations.
     
    Many of Cadent’s staff are on the frontline, continuing to keep gas supplies flowing and attending gas emergencies, such as gas escapes and carbon monoxide leaks, during the pandemic.
     
    Public safety is the company’s top priority and extra precautions are being taken during the coronavirus pandemic to ensure both customers and employees remain safe. Further information can be found on the company’s website at: https://cadentgas.com/coronavirus
 
ENDS
 

Cadent

Cadent is the UK’s largest gas distribution network with a 200-year legacy.  We are in a unique position to build on strong foundations whilst encouraging the curiosity to think differently and the courage to embrace change.  Day to day we continue to operate, maintain and innovate the UK’s largest gas network, transporting gas safely and protecting people in an emergency.   Our skilled engineers and specialists remain committed to the communities we serve, working day and night to ensure gas reaches 11 million homes from Cumbria to North London and the Welsh Borders to East Anglia, to keep your energy flowing. 

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Ben Green

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