Do you think vending machines are just for chocolate bars and cups of coffee? Think again! From live crabs in China, milk in France and live-bait in the deepest American South to gold bullion in the United Arab Emirates and mashed potatoes in Singapore, in recent years the once humble vending machine has expanded globally to sell all kinds of odd things to the buyer on the go – and perhaps none odder than the Isle of Man’s most recent addition – a machine that dispenses nappies!
It is just such a machine that MannVend has recently installed in the Maternity Unit at Nobles 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 commented. “Babies can arrive any time night or day, so we needed a facility that could supply provisions 24/7”
The newly installed vending machine in the Maternity Unit addresses just such an eventuality, stocking every Mum and baby care essential a new parent could possibly need, including cotton wool, nipple cream and nappies.
This is a double celebration, as not only is this the most unusual vending project that MannVend 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 provided refreshments solutions to businesses on the Island since 1967. It is now the longest running workplace refreshment specialist on the Island and now employs a team of 30 staff with an extensive 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, was very happy to organise this unique installation. “We thrive on a challenge here at MannVend and were delighted to assist the maternity ward with this project. Our philosophy at MannVend 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 Nobles 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!”
Photo - Claire Caleia Ferreira with her two week old twins Priya and Pablou are pictured next to the new vending machine.
