Bender ensures electrical integrity aboard Mercy ship

Mercy Ships

Bender UK has completed a complementary service and health check on the medical IT power systems aboard the Global Mercy™ ship.

This essential service ensures the ship can continue its mission of delivering life-changing medical care to some of the world's poorest countries in Africa.

The Global Mercy™ recently docked in Tenerife for maintenance before resuming its humanitarian mission. Bender’s life-changing technology will continue to play a crucial role in safeguarding those on board.

Gareth Brunton, Bender UK managing director, comments: "We are proud to support the humanitarian mission of Global Mercy™ with our innovative medical IT power technology, which safeguards the staff and patients on board from electrical hazards.

“Our commitment includes carrying out essential electrical system maintenance free of charge and offering our expertise to Mercy Ships to ensure these and future vessels can efficiently deliver vital services worldwide. On this occasion, we were delighted to be of assistance once again to help safeguard operations."

Andrew Cartwright, Service and Commissioning Engineer travelled to Tenerife to undertake servicing and testing of the medical IT and isolated power systems on board. He verified all systems and reported no faults in the installation previously designed and installed by Bender.

The Global Mercy™ is the first purpose-built floating hospital and the largest charity-run hospital ship in the world. The 174-metre, 37,000-ton vessel has six operating rooms and houses over 600 volunteers from around the globe, including surgeons, medical specialists, maritime crew, and various support personnel.

This technology enables the engineering crew to assess the health of the systems and see developing faults without switching off the vessel's services. This continuous monitoring and protection of the vessel's electrical infrastructure allows volunteer medical staff to continue their vital work uninterrupted and without risk to patient safety.

The ship's robust electrical grid is essential for its mission and autonomous operation. The firm, a world leader in medical IT systems for clinical areas and marine electrical systems, enhanced the electrical infrastructure on board the Global Mercy™ during a previous maintenance docking two years ago.

The company supplied linked medical IT systems on decks 4 and 5 of the ship to provide resilient systems for 'Group 2' critical areas, including the operating rooms. These medical IT systems eliminate operational hazards, ensuring that a single earth fault will not cause a trip or interrupt the electrical supply, which is crucial during surgeries and for life support systems.

By providing this vital service check and ongoing support, Bender continues to play a crucial role in enabling the Global Mercy™ to deliver essential healthcare to communities that need it most, making a significant impact on global health disparities.

Find out more here: https://www.mercyships.org.uk/