Last Friday, I was delighted to officially open the new Innovation Hub and UK Headquarters of Zimmer Biomet at the Windmill Hill Business Park here in Swindon.
For over ninety years, Zimmer Biomet has been a driving force in the rapidly growing musculoskeletal healthcare industry.
A globally significant innovation developed by the Swindon team is the Oxford knee, which is the most widely used and clinically proven partial knee in the world. Since its launch in 1976, the Oxford Knee System has been used in more than 600,000 surgeries across 50 countries with Zimmer Biomet training more than 1,500 surgeons on the Oxford Partial Knee System each year, around the world.
Infection control is a top priority for Orthopaedic Surgeons, and the Swindon team at Zimmer Biomet also led the development of Bactiguard coating for orthopaedic implants.
During my visit, I had the opportunity to see ROSA (Robotic Orthopaedic Surgical Assistant). ROSA is a robot specifically designed to help surgeons fine-tune their surgical approach to the personal and unique anatomy of each patient.
Zimmer Biomet sees the future of orthopaedics in the use of integrated digital and robotic technologies and artificial intelligence, and it is great news that the company has chosen Swindon as the location for their new Innovation Hub and UK Headquarters.
As mentioned in my column last week, the ongoing situation in Ukraine is a crisis that will not wait and following my question to the Home Secretary about how we can get a real sense of coordination and urgency in helping Ukrainian refugees, I am pleased that the Government’s Homes for Ukraine Scheme is now up and running. The bespoke scheme offers a route to those who want to come to the United Kingdom.
If you are interested in becoming a sponsor and could offer accommodation for at least six months, you can register your interest at https://homesforukraine.campaign.gov.uk/
I would like to thank all of those residents here in Swindon who continue to contact me and are keen to offer their support to the people of Ukraine.
This fortnight, The Children's Society, British Transport Police, and Police Chiefs are running a really important campaign: #LookCloser, which aims to raise awareness of child criminal exploitation – children being used by criminal groups to commit crime.
Early intervention and prevention are crucial if we are to tackle violent crime and I welcome key Government commitments, which include significant funding for an early intervention programme to help young people and young adults to live positive lives away from violence.
It is important that we all recognise the signs of exploitation and report it if we see anything suspicious or are simply concerned that a young person is being exploited.
I would urge members of the public to be vigilant and look out for some of the most visible signs which include:
Has a child or young person gone missing from school or home?
Are they meeting with unfamiliar adults?
Have you noticed a change in their behaviour?
Are they using drugs and alcohol?
Has there been a breakdown in relationships with family and friends?
This could be a sign that they are being coerced and controlled to commit crime. Call 101 to report it.
For more information please visit https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/what-we-do/our-work/child-criminal-exploitation-and-county-lines/spotting-signs
