HAVANT HEALTHCARE HEROES: MP Cuts Ribbon at Local Firm's Gleaming New Innovation Centre

TUCKED away in an industrial estate off Penner Road, there's a Havant company quietly changing lives across the country.

And this week, they got the recognition they deserve.

Havant MP Alan Mak has officially opened OSKA's upgraded Innovation Centre and Training Academy at their headquarters in Pyramid Park - a gleaming new facility where healthcare professionals from across Britain come to learn how to save patients from one of medicine's most preventable killers.

THE SILENT EPIDEMIC NOBODY TALKS ABOUT

Pressure ulcers. Bedsores. Whatever you want to call them.

They sound almost trivial. They're anything but.

Every year in the UK, hundreds of thousands of patients develop pressure ulcers - painful, debilitating wounds that can lead to infection, amputation, and even death. The NHS spends an estimated £1.4 BILLION annually treating them.

And here's the thing that should make everyone angry: most of them are entirely preventable.

That's where OSKA comes in.

FROM HAVANT TO HOSPITALS NATIONWIDE

Walk through the doors at Penner Road and you'll find something remarkable: a British company that actually MAKES things.

OSKA designs and manufactures pressure care mattresses, specialist seating, and nursing beds that are used in NHS hospitals, hospices, care homes, and private facilities across the country. Their products help prevent the pressure damage that occurs when vulnerable patients - elderly, immobile, seriously ill - spend extended time in bed.

Managing director Alistair Wickland greeted MP Alan Mak at the entrance before giving him the full tour of the facility. What Mak saw was a company firing on all cylinders.

"It was fantastic to see the innovation happening right here in Havant," Mak said after cutting the ribbon. "This is exactly the kind of local business we should be celebrating - creating skilled jobs, serving the NHS, and making products that genuinely improve people's lives."

THE NUMBERS THAT MATTER

OSKA employs over 165 people. Many of them live right here in the Havant Borough.

These aren't warehouse workers shuffling boxes. The company employs skilled engineers, clinical specialists, tissue viability nurses, and training experts who work directly with healthcare providers to improve patient outcomes.

Their products are backed by serious clinical evidence. The company works with NHS Trusts nationwide, providing not just equipment but ongoing support, training, and maintenance.

It's the kind of proper, sustainable business that politicians always say they want to support. Here's proof that one actually does exist - and it's based in Havant.

WHAT THE NEW CENTRE ACTUALLY DOES

The upgraded Innovation Centre isn't just a showroom.

It's a fully-equipped training facility where healthcare professionals - nurses, occupational therapists, tissue viability specialists - come to learn the latest techniques in pressure ulcer prevention.

The Training Academy offers hands-on education with OSKA's range of specialist mattresses and equipment. Healthcare staff can see how different surfaces respond to patient positioning, understand the science behind pressure redistribution, and learn practical skills they can take back to their wards.

For NHS Trusts trying to reduce pressure ulcer rates - and the associated costs - this kind of training is invaluable.

And it's happening right here. In Havant. Not London. Not some massive corporate campus. An industrial estate off the A27.

CARBON NEUTRAL PIONEERS

Here's something that doesn't get enough attention: OSKA is a carbon neutral business.

In an era when companies love to greenwash their credentials with meaningless pledges and distant targets, OSKA has actually done the work.

One of their most impressive initiatives is their mattress recycling service. In the UK, approximately 7.5 MILLION mattresses are sent to landfill or incinerated every year. That's enough to fill Wembley Stadium five times over, every single year.

OSKA diverts, recycles, and repurposes mattress materials - creating a circular economy for their products while helping NHS clients offset their own carbon footprint.

"We can't ignore our responsibility to the planet," the company said in a recent statement about Global Recycling Day. "These mattresses don't need to end up in landfill."

WHY THIS MATTERS FOR HAVANT

It's easy to be cynical about local business stories. Another ribbon-cutting. Another politician smiling for photos. Another press release full of buzzwords.

But OSKA represents something genuinely valuable.

This is a company that could be based anywhere. They export knowledge and products across the country. They could have their headquarters in a flashy London office or a tech park in Cambridge.

Instead, they're in Havant. Creating jobs in Havant. Paying business rates in Havant. Training their workforce from Hampshire.

When people complain about the lack of skilled jobs outside major cities, OSKA is the counterexample. When people ask what British manufacturing actually looks like in 2026, this is it.

THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE PRODUCTS

What you notice walking around the facility is the expertise.

OSKA employs registered nurses who understand clinical care from the frontline. They have occupational therapists who know what patients actually need. They have engineers who can design products that work in real-world healthcare settings.

This isn't a company that makes generic products and ships them out. They provide ongoing clinical support, helping healthcare providers implement effective pressure care strategies.

Their Innovation Centre hosts team meetings for NHS Tissue Viability teams, Community Nursing groups, and Moving & Handling professionals. It's become a hub for knowledge-sharing across the healthcare sector.

WHAT ALAN MAK SAW

During his tour, the Conservative MP for Havant saw the full range of OSKA's products - from the Series5 Lateral Tilt Mattress designed for palliative care, to the Series6 OneSurface that provides pressure ulcer prevention for the highest-risk patients.

He met staff across departments, heard about the company's growth plans, and officially declared the Innovation Centre and Training Academy open.

"Havant has a proud tradition of engineering and manufacturing," Mak noted. "It's brilliant to see that tradition continuing with a company that's at the cutting edge of healthcare technology."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

In a town that's sometimes overshadowed by neighbouring Portsmouth, OSKA is a reminder that Havant has its own story to tell.

The company proves that meaningful, skilled employment can exist outside traditional employment hubs. That British companies can still design, manufacture, and export products the world wants. That local businesses can make a genuine difference to people's lives.

Next time someone asks what Havant actually does, point them to Penner Road.

There's a company there saving lives. And this week, they got the recognition they deserve.

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*OSKA is based at Edward House, 5 Penner Road, Havant, PO9 1QZ. For more information about their products and training services, visit oska.uk.com*