Synergy Health plc () was a global company headquartered in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The company provides specialist outsourced services to the

healthcare Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

and related markets around the world, including sterilization services for

medical device A medical device is any device intended to be used for medical purposes. Significant potential for hazards are inherent when using a device for medical purposes and thus medical devices must be proved safe and effective with reasonable assura ...

and other manufacturers,

decontamination Decontamination (sometimes abbreviated as decon, dcon, or decontam) is the process of removing contaminants on an object or area, including chemicals, micro-organisms or radioactive substances. This may be achieved by chemical reaction, disinfecti ...

of surgical instruments for

hospitals A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

and other medical practitioners together with related

hygiene Hygiene is a series of practices performed to preserve health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refer ...

services. The company was listed on the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

until it was acquired by

Steris Corporation Steris Corporation is an Irish-domiciled medical equipment company specializing in sterilization and surgical products for the US healthcare system. Steris is operationally headquartered in Mentor, Ohio, but has been legally registered since 2018 ...

in October 2015.

History

Synergy was founded in 1991 as a manufacturer of surgical packs in

Corby Corby is a town in North Northamptonshire, England, located north-east of Northampton. From 1974 to 2021, the town served as the administrative headquarters of the Borough of Corby. At the 2011 Census, the built-up area had a population of 5 ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, listing on the

Alternative Investment Market AIM (formerly the Alternative Investment Market) is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange that was launched on 19 June 1995 as a replacement to the previous Unlisted Securities Market (USM) that had been in operation since 1980. It allows ...

in London that same year. In subsequent years the company grew organically and through acquisition, buying a number of healthcare-related companies including Shiloh, and Vernon Carus in the United Kingdom; Isotron Plc which extended the company's footprint in Europe and Asia, and MSI and SRI which acted as a springboard into the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In October 2014, medical technology provider Steris Corporation agreed to buy Synergy for £1.2 billion ($1.9 billion). The new Steris Corporation will be based in the UK for tax purposes (35 percent in US and only 25 percent in UK), while the US business will still operate.

Operations

The company's services include the

sterilisation, sterilisation of reusable medical instruments, provision of outsourced

laundry Laundry refers to the washing of clothing and other textiles, and, more broadly, their drying and ironing as well. Laundry has been part of history since humans began to wear clothes, so the methods by which different cultures have dealt with t ...

services and the reprocessing of surgical linen. Synergy also provides a range of laboratory services including occupational

pathology Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...

services and workplace drug and alcohol testing. The company also distributes medical hygiene products such as proprietary antibacterial cleansers and

wet wipe A wet wipe, also known as a wet towel or a moist towelette, disposable wipe, disinfecting wipe, or a baby wipe (in specific circumstances) is a small to medium-sized moistened piece of plastic or cloth that either comes folded and individually ...

s, swabs and

bandages A bandage is a piece of material used either to support a medical device such as a dressing or splint, or on its own to provide support to or to restrict the movement of a part of the body. When used with a dressing, the dressing is applie ...

. The company operates in four regions: UK & Ireland, Europe & Middle East, Asia & Africa and the Americas.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Companies based in Swindon Health care companies established in 1991 Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange Health care companies of the United Kingdom 1991 establishments in England