Mason Pinder Celebrates Health & Safety Record Milestone and Raises Cash for Local Charity

Polypipe is celebrating the excellent long term health and safety record of Thorne based toolmakers, Mason Pinder, by donating funds to a charity chosen by the site’s employees. Mason Pinder is part of Polypipe Group PLC, the UK’s leading manufacturer of plastic piping and ventilation systems for the residential, commercial, civils and infrastructure sectors. Each time Mason Pinder reaches 500 days without a time lost accident, Polypipe donates £5 per employee to a charity of the employees’ choosing. This latest cheque for £1505 was donated to a medical fund to finance a life-changing treatment for young Cerebral Palsy patient Emil Mason. It brings the total raised for local charities chosen by Mason Pinder staff to £5210.

Lindsay Mason, Emil’s father, visited the site on Coulman Street Industrial Estate to meet the Mason Pinder team and to receive a cheque for £1505 after the latest record performance.

Lindsay explains, “At the age of 1, Emil was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, specifically bilateral spastic legs with some difficulties in his arms too.

At that time our world totally fell apart and I remember that day very well. Emil’s type of Cerebral Palsy results in very high muscle tone, which means his leg muscles are incredibly stiff, he quite often struggles to control the movements himself and he is unable to stand or walk unaided. He requires a Kaye walker at present to get around. Day to day activities are completely compromised but Emil is an amazing, smiley little boy who is extremely determined and wants to be involved in everything with family, friends and the dog. We are continually amazed at his positivity and resilience!

There is a life-changing operation suitable for Emil. The procedure is called Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR), which involves cutting the sensory nerves in the lower spine, in turn reducing the abnormal messages Emil currently receives from his sensory nerves. SDR is not currently funded by the NHS but is offered as a ‘self-funding’ programme. The family are therefore responsible for the cost of the surgery and months to years of intensive physiotherapy post-operation. We now need to start to raise around £40,000 to make this happen. We intend to fund it ourselves as much as possible but we will need help to raise the rest.”

The cheque was presented to Lindsay by Polypipe Chief Executive Officer Martin Payne, and Mason Pinder’s employees.

Martin said, “The site’s excellent health and safety record of 3500 days without a ‘time lost’ accident is an outstanding achievement. It is a significant milestone of which everyone at Mason Pinder can be very proud.”

Polypipe, were last year presented the Gold Medal Award in recognition of achieving the RoSPA gold award for 6 consecutive years due to its excellent health and safety standards. Following this milestone achievement, Polypipe introduced its ‘Charity Award for Safety and Health (CASH)’ scheme as an additional incentive and in recognition of the contribution employees make to health and safety standards on manufacturing sites around the Polypipe Group.

Polypipe donates £5 per employee working at the site once the site reaches 500 days without a time lost accident, with further £5 increments for each 500 days without a time lost accident. Other Polypipe sites have reached 500 and 1000 days without a time lost accident, but Mason Pinder is the first to achieve the milestone of 3500 days.

“We are delighted with the way this scheme continues to deliver,” said the Group Head of Health Safety and Environment, Kris Ramsey. “It has great benefits for employees and management culminating in a substantial cash donation to a worthy charity. The team continues to do an excellent job.”

For further information, please contact:

Kris Ramsey
Polypipe Head of Health Safety and Environment
Tel: 01709 770 000.