Vending machines might normally be associated with chocolate bars and cups of coffee, but at Noble’s Hospital one has another purpose entirely.
It’s designed to cater for a new mother’s needs.
MannVend recently installed it in the maternity unit at Noble’s Hospital.
Lead midwife for inpatient services, Jane Gray, came up with the idea after the move to the Braddan site meant the nearest chemist was a car journey away.
‘No matter how conscientious a new parent you are, it’s always possible you’ll forget to bring something essential with you that you and your baby may need Ms Gray said. ‘Babies can arrive any time night or day, so we needed a facility that could supply provisions 24/7.’
The machine addresses just such an eventuality, stocking every mother and baby care essential a new parent could possibly need, including cotton wool, nipple cream but not, according to the hospital, nappies.
This is a double celebration, as not only is this the most unusual vending project that Mann Vend has ever undertaken, but is also the 5,000th machine the company has installed on the island.
A family-owned business which has been run by three generations of the Leahy family, MannVend has been operating since 1967.
It now the oldest vending machine specialist in the island and employs a team of 30 staff with an range of customers from small offices, schools, cafes and restaurants, to large offices and factories, serving over 35,000 drinks and other refreshments a day.
Christine O’Hanlon, sales manager at MannVend, said: ‘We thrive on a challenge here at MannVend and were delighted to assist the maternity ward with this project.
‘Our philosophy at Mann Vend has always been to “make it easy”, both for our clients and their public, and this project is the perfect demonstration of this sentiment.
‘It is a strange but fortunate coincidence that we were given the opportunity to develop this machine to mark our 5,000th installation and it has been great fun working with the team at the Noble’s maternity unit. We hope we’ve made a great difference to the experience of new parents across the island and look forward to our next 5,000 machines!’
