A Kent-based business, which has been supplying medical training products around the world for more than 100 years, is securing its future with investments in expanded facilities, new software, a larger sales team, a focus on research and development and a brand new website.
Adam,Rouilly has been at the forefront of medical education since 1918, working closely with healthcare professionals, hospitals and universities in the development of medical teaching models to support advances in clinical knowledge and training.
As well as being a distributor for a number of carefully chosen global suppliers, Adam,Rouilly manufactures many of its own products which are designed and produced in its purpose-built facility in Sittingbourne.
The expanding catalogue of task trainers features a full range of teaching aids for essential medical procedures, from a blood sampling arm right through to a full radiography skeleton. Items are shipped around the world to upskill healthcare workers and train future generations of medical professionals.
A new website has just been launched which makes it much easier for customers to find and compare more than 3000 products on offer. It has a clearer layout, an improved search facility, more informative content, easier quoting capability and a live chat function. Customers can now live chat with the expert sales team for help in selecting the most appropriate training products.
The sales team has also been expanded and additional staff appointed to implement new software systems to support the company’s vital research and development work. Plans are underway this year to further expand both the Sittingbourne site and the production team, alongside efforts to minimise environmental impact through the use of solar power. Eighty-six per cent of the company’s fleet is now hybrid or electric vehicles.
A history of medical training innovation
The business has been pioneering medical training equipment for more than a century and is still focused firmly on growth. Adam,Rouilly was founded in London in 1918 by Guy Rouilly, who recognised the need to provide healthcare educators with superior products and the very best customer service.
Today it is a family-run business, owned by Michael and Jenny Whitebread and their daughter Emily, supported by two additional directors. Michael has been with the company since the early 1960s and remains actively involved.
In the 1920s, Guy Rouilly was supplying articulated skeletons to all the medical schools and teaching hospitals. His background in metal work meant he was able to use the best materials for realism and durability.
The first type of nursing doll, manufactured by Adam,Rouilly, was mainly used for teaching bandaging techniques. This was further developed in the 1930s with the creation of the life-sized Bedford Doll. This had removable, jointed legs and arms, a paper mâché head with realistic glass eyes and a fabric covering. Thanks to advances in materials technologies, the current Bedford Doll remains an excellent all-rounder for nurse training, used by some of the world’s most prestigious nursing schools.
The X-Ray Doll was created in the 1960s after Adam,Rouilly was approached by the Royal Herbert Military Hospital in Woolwich to produce a model for radiographic positioning training. In the 1980s, the company created an infusion arm trainer, initially designed in response to a request from the military, which needed a realistic, yet robust, model for intravenous cannulation training. The injection arm has been continuously enhanced over the years and remains one of the company’s most popular products.
Adam,Rouilly has worked with a variety of leading medical experts and institutions to develop training devices needed to teach specific tasks, particularly as knowledge and techniques progress. Recent successful partnerships include two obstetric simulators developed in collaboration with Guy’s and St Thomas’s NHS Foundation Trust.
The company worked with some of the UK’s leading obstetricians to produce an impacted fetal head simulator, which allows the simulation of a potentially life-threatening situation during birth where the fetal head becomes impacted, and a highly realistic amniocentesis simulator which is ultrasound compatible.
Pioneering work continues today
The pioneering work continues today and a number of projects are being progressed to design new models which not only improve training techniques, but also reflect a more diverse society.
The company recently supported the creation of a world-first course teaching nasogastric tube feeding in children using its Hungry Manikin model. The model was originally designed in partnership with nurses from Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Michael Whitebread said: “Adam,Rouilly has always been known for quality and innovation and we are still motivated by these core values today. We manufacture in the UK, with our models still being carefully assembled by hand, by skilled technicians.
“We continue to work with leading medical professionals and have a number of exciting products in development this year. We’re investing significantly in growth, with an even bigger focus on sustainability. Our high quality products are designed to last, but we also offer a repair service.
“We’re really looking forward to further expanding the business and developing new products which not only serve medical education, but also provide solutions for improving our health and environment.”