A Canvey laundry business stepped in to help the NHS in its fight against coronavirus by providing its services to Basildon Hospital free of charge.

Canvey Commercial Laundry provides laundry services to the hospitality sector and worked around the clock to meet the high demand for sterile laundry for frontline NHS staff.

Eamon Malone, chief estates and facilities officer for Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said: “What they have done is exceptional. Canvey Commercial Laundry has provided a service that’s in high demand when the NHS was in one of its most challenging hours.

“For over five weeks, it helped to ensure thousands of garments were suitable for our frontline staff. We couldn’t be more pleased to recognise its efforts and commitment during the pandemic.”

Following the Government’s announcement of all non-essential businesses closing at the beginning of April, the majority of the company’s customers shut overnight.  Owners Karl Hopkins and Adam Aspinall decided they wanted to help Basildon Hospital during the crisis.

Hopkins said: “We couldn’t sleep at night knowing we had machines that were doing nothing when we could be helping other people. So we contacted Basildon Hospital to see if we could be of any assistance.”

Aspinall added: “We were able to provide a free service and support our local NHS during this difficult time. We are proud to meet the needs of the frontline NHS heroes. Thank you to the whole team at Basildon for helping us to make our idea a reality.”

Canvey’s Aspinall working to meet the needs of frontline NHS staff

Canvey Commercial Laundry owners Adam Aspinall and Karl Hopkins