By Nick Sommerlad

Brave Sophie Ellis was just 13 when she was diagnosed with mesothelioma and given just months to live, but she defied the doctors’ predictions and fought the disease until her death at 18 surrounded by her family.

Despite being desperately ill, she spoke movingly about her ordeal last
year in support of the Mirror’s Asbestos Timebomb campaign and her startling story proved an inspiration.

sophie-ellis-with-gordon-brown

She told us: “The cancer has made me braver in a way. It was pretty tough being diagnosed at such a young age and the surgery was really painful. I hope more can be done to understand this disease – that’s why I’m backing the Mirror’s campaign.”

The talented musician and performer never gave up her dream of becoming an actress even after gruelling surgery to remove a lung and losing the use of her legs.

She regularly played with an amateur dramatics group and began studying performing arts at Suffolk College after her GCSEs, but was forced to give up her course because of the disease.

Nobody knows how Sophie, of Battisford in Suffolk, contracted the disease, which can take 15 to 50 years to develop and normally afflicts middle-aged or older victims with long-exposure to asbestos in building works and heavy industry.

The lethal cancer of the lung or the abdomen kills one person every five hours in Britain – the highest rate in the world. Since 1968 only nine people under the age of 19 have died of the disease.

Sophie was found to have the disese after she developed a sore side from what she thought was a judo injury, but tests found it was a tumour on the lining of her right lung.

She underwent eight months of chemotherapy and two weeks of radiotherapy at Addenbrookes’s Hospital in Cambridge. In April this year the cancer spread to her spine, leaving her paralysed from the neck down.

Her mother Lynn, 52, a former nurse, said:”She fought so hard and we are so grateful to have spent that extra time with her. We knew from the beginning that her illness was terminal, but nothing prepares you for when the end comes. She packed more into her 18 years than some people do in a lifetime.”

Last night veteran asbestos campaigner Michael Lees, whose teacher wife Gina died of disease in 2000 after exposure to asbestos in school, said: “I am desperately sorry to hear of the sad death of Sophie Ellis and my thoughts and prayers are with her family.

“Mesothelioma is an awful disease and it is especially tragic when someone so young with such a wonderful future in front of them dies from the cancer.”

Sophie, who has two brothers and a ten-year-old sister Lucy, died last week and left a video tape she made two years ago as a tribute of her life and battle with illness.

Quality and Safety are top priorities to us so we’re very pleased Maylarch has achieved this international quality standard and been awarded this ISO accreditation by an independent body, supported by the government and recognised worldwide. Our new accreditation demonstrates to our clients that the Maylarch Group has a continued commitment to quality and continuous improvement.

As a company we are very proud of the service and quality we offer, and are delighted to receive formal recognition of this. This ISO certification defines our standard operating procedures, which include valuable communication and system feedback loops among our employees, managers and our clients. It helps us to further document and control our processes to help exceed customer expectations and ensure quality processes within our company.

This accreditation comes quick on the heels of our other acheivements over the last 12 months, including:  gaining ISO 14001 earlier this year, winners at the local OBA Awards (Customer & Staff Care) and SME of the year at regional Thames Valley Awards.

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As we strive to deliver continued excellence we have set ourselves further goals this year:

ISO 18001:2007 – Occupational Health & Safety:
Many companies are implementing an Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS) as part of their risk management strategy to address changing legislation and protect their workforce. An OHSMS will promote a safe and healthy working environment by providing a framework that will allow Maylarch to consistently identify and control its health and safety risks, reduce the potential for accidents, aid legislative compliance and further improve overall performance.

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For more information or to discuss this press release further please contact:

Rachel Williams – Marketing & Bid Manager

01865 883829

rachel.williams@maylarch.co.uk

www.maylarch.co.uk

www.maylarchrecycling.co.uk

Twitter – Facebook -  Linkedin

What’s your duty of care?

You have a legal responsibility to ensure that you produce, treat, store, transport and dispose of your business waste without harming the environment. This is called your duty of care. Find out what your business has to do in our guidance on duty of care.

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Fluroescent light tubes, printer toner and cathode ray tubes in computer monitors… almost all businesses produce some hazardous or special waste.

Do you know how to store, transport and dispose of it? Find the answers in our hazardous / special waste guidance and learn how your business can produce less, to cut your disposal costs and reduce your environmental impact.

————————————————————————————————————————–Maylarch Recycling Ltd provides Hazardous Waste Collections throughout Oxfordshire and the South East from one off  “Man & Van” to term contracts for waste management – for more information visit our website:

www.maylarchrecycling.co.uk

Edith Moorhouse School is one of five schools that could soon be celebrating winning £7,500 of Olympic-inspired improvements – with your help.

Maylarch have backed  Edith Moorhouse School in Carterton in submitting a bid and have been successfully selected as finalists in the School Olympic Save Our School competition.

For the second year the Oxford Mail has teamed up with Abingdon construction company Leadbitter to offer a £7,500 revamp to one lucky school.

Swimming changing rooms, adventure playgrounds and indoor and outdoor apparatus and climbing equipment are among the improvements that pupils and staff are hoping to be able to fund.

Oxford Mail deputy editor Sara Taylor said: “It was a tough choice picking our finalists, but we thought these five projects had the potential to be really inspiring and change a lot of children’s lives at school.  “Now it is over to pupils, staff, communities and our readers to collect as many of the special tokens we’ll be printing in the Mail from Monday.”

Leadbitter regional director Richard Nixon said: “I thoroughly enjoyed sitting down with the team and reading the applications.  “There was lots of stuff to go through and I thought it was of a very high standard. Obviously a lot of effort had been put in by pupils and staff.”

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EDITH Moorhouse School is hoping to win the cash to spend on upgrading its activity centre and adventure playground area.

In its application, the school described its existing adventure playground as “outdated and damaged”, including a section which was condemned in the autumn term last year and had to be removed.

Childrens Plan of New Playground

Deputy headteacher Sam Bartholomew said: “It would be a great opportunity for children to have the challenge and use their free time to improve their strength, agility and fitness to become better athletes in the future.”

He said the facility could help improve children’s overall health, provide access to physical activities for children of all abilities, improve balance and core strength and aid hand-eye co-ordination, among other benefits.

He added: “All of these factors can be attributed to aiding youngsters in following their dreams and ambitions, whether they turn their attentions to athletics and the future Olympics or they want to become marine biologists and go diving or our future service personnel.”

Maylarch Environmental Ltd, are thrilled to announce that we were Winners at the Oxfordshire Business Awards 2010

  

Customer & Staff Care

Maylarch Triumphed at the Annual Oxfordshire Business Awards  – shortlisted alongside two other notable companies for the Customer & Staff Care Award – sponsored by Champion Recruitment and we came away as deserved winners.

This achievement recognises excellence in looking after both customers and staff.

Staff development has benefited the organisation, staff and its customers and the development of a culture where customer focus is key to success.
 
This Award would not have been possible without the hard work of all of our staff across all sites and it is a fantastic recognition of the excellent way in which Maylarch operates from individuals through to organisational levels.

Our staff carry the excellent reputation of Maylarch as an Oxfordshire Business of Excellence throughout the county and beyond.

Our loyal client base continues to grow as more and more organisations are realising the benefits of working with a company who is pro-active in developing their staff.  This enables us to provide impeccable levels of customer service to everyone we deal with from stand alone operations through to national organisations.

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For Press/PR Enquiries please contact:

Rachel Williams or visit our media centre:

www.maylarch.co.uk/media.php

 

Contact Details:

Head Office – Eynsham
Oakwood, Oakfield Ind Est
Eynsham, Oxfordshire
OX29 4TH

T: 01865 883829
F: 01865 881376

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Branch Office – Cheltenham
Andoversford Link
Cheltenham, Glos
GL54 4LB

T: 01242 821450
F: 01242 820748

E: enquiries@maylarch.co.uk

W: www.maylarch.co.uk

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You can now follow Maylarch on Twitter:  @Maylarch

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/maylarch

On Linkedin: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/maylarchenvironmental

]]> http://www.maylarch.co.uk/news/?feed=rss2&p=365 0 http://www.maylarch.co.uk/news/?p=353 http://www.maylarch.co.uk/news/?p=353#comments Mon, 17 May 2010 12:02:23 +0000 Maylarch http://www.maylarch.co.uk/news/?p=353 News From the Health & Safety Executive:

Asbestos surveys are only effective if competent surveyors are employed to do them…That is one of the key messages being promoted at roadshows to help explain new guidance devised for those responsible for managing the risks from asbestos.

‘Asbestos: The survey guide’ (Ref: HSG264) which was published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in January is aimed at those who commission asbestos surveys, the surveyors who carry them out and those who use them such as architects and demolition or removal contractors.

A number of successful road shows, attended by surveyors and health and safety professionals have already taken place with further events scheduled for Cardiff (19 May), Birmingham (16 June) and London (30 June).

The new guide stipulates that clients and duty holders only engage a surveying organisation that is competent. This can be demonstrated either through the organisation being accredited and/or individual surveyors having their own certification.

The guide strongly recommends the use of UKAS accredited or ABICS certified surveyors for asbestos surveys

Maylarch Environmental hold UKAS Accreditation for Surveying & Inspections to BS EN ISO:17020

Said Dr Martin Gibson, author of the guide and a Principal Specialist Inspector for HSE:

“Ensuring that contractors are competent to do asbestos surveys should be a top priority for those responsible for managing the risks from asbestos.

“Those organisations or individuals without accreditation and/or certification will find it more difficult to demonstrate that they are competent, so by employing a contractor with accreditation and/or certification, dutyholders can better meet their legal requirements.”

Said Rob Bettinson of UKAS:

“UKAS accreditation for surveying companies is a well established scheme. Accredited organisations can demonstrate that not only do they have competent surveyors but they are also working within a well defined management system that provides confidence in the surveying procedures that are used. Clients can have confidence that accredited surveyors will provide a quality service.”

“Asbestos, the survey guide” (HSG264) can be purchased from HSE books (ISBN 9780717663859) for £10.95 or downloaded for free at http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/hsg264.htm

With over 100 entries this year – beocming shortlisted in our chosen category is an honour in itself – Maylarch have been chosen as one of the top 3 in the county in the Customer & Staff Care Award – Sponsored by Champion Recruitment.

Maylarch Stay on Top

ORGANISERS of the Oxfordshire Business Awards have praised the “exceptional” companies and individuals who have been shortlisted in this year’s competition.

A total of 36 firms and business leaders have made the cut in 12 different categories, meaning they will compete for the honours at the awards finals next month.

Awards chairman Paul Lowe said: “It has been another fantastic year.

“Judging has seemed harder than ever and the quality and capabilities of those who have made it through to the final are all exceptional.

“The list of finalists is an impressive array of some great companies, large and small, and shows what a diverse and fantastic place Oxfordshire is to do business.”

Andrew Smith – Oxford Mail

Maylarch have a good history with The Oxfordshire Business Awards having been finalists in the Growing Business Category in 2005 – Finalists in both Sustainability and Construction Categories in 2008 – Last year saw Maylarch awarded SME of the year from the Thames Valley Business Magazine Awards and we are hopeful that a return to OBA Finalists this year will bring us another award and we warmly congratulate all of the other finalists shortlisted this year.

You can now follow Maylarch on Twitter:  @Maylarch

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/maylarch

On Linkedin: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/maylarchenvironmental

Oxfordshire based company, Maylarch Environmental Ltd, have signed up to the Oxford to Paris Bike Ride in aid of Sobell House Hospice; MD Nick Williamson is set to take on the challenge

Setting off from St Ebbes School – Whitehorse Road, Oxford on Thursday 22nd April 2010, The Cycle4 Sobell Crew plan to take just two and half days to complete the journey of about 260 miles or 415 km no doubt wobbling over the finish line at the Arc di Triomphe – Paris for a spectacular finish.

Cycle4Sobell Crew on a practice run - Summertown

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER or by GPS to see how we get on

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Sobell House is a fantastic facility with dedicated Nursing and non-Nursing staff. We hope you can help us reach our goal of raising £10,000 for specific items. Even if you just donate a few pounds, it all adds up!

The Hospice is not just a place – It is a whole concept in care.

For more than 30 years the Sobell House   Hospice has been offering care and support to those residents throughout Oxfordshire suffering with life limiting illnesses.

The years since it’s opening in 1975 have seen the hospice develop across a number of fronts, including the opening of the Day Centre and provision of home care.  In recent years the place of complementary therapies, chaplaincy work and social care have all been affirmed and established. In November 2001 a new 20-bed hospice was built on the current site to provide a modern hospice and improve the service to the community of Oxfordshire.  The hospice costs in excess of £3million a year to run, a large part of which comes from the generosity and support of local companies and individuals throughout the county such as yourself.

Our Current Target:   £15,000.00

Total Raised to Date: £13,956.78

Sponsor us now!
http://www.cycle4sobell.org.uk/support-us-today/

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Contact Details:

Press/PR: Please contact Rachel Williams

Head Office – Eynsham
Oakwood, Oakfield Ind Est
Eynsham, Oxfordshire
OX29 4TH

T: 01865 883829
F: 01865 881376
E: rachel.williams@maylarch.co.uk
W: www.maylarch.co.uk

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Branch Office – Cheltenham
46 Ryeworth Road
Charlton Kings, Glos
GL52 6LH

T: 01242 821450
F: 01242 820748

E: enquiries@maylarch.co.uk

W: www.maylarch.co.uk

It is important to specify  the appropriate requirements on suppliers according to the type of work required. For example, you can  be confident in the technical competence of an asbestos surveying organisation if it holds UKAS accreditation to ISO/IEC 17020, the internationally recognised standard that sets out the requirements for organisations performing inspection. UKAS accredited certification of a supplier’s management system to ISO 9001 tells you that they have arrangements for managing the quality of their product or service,  but it doesn’t relate to their technical competence.*

Maylarch Hold UKAS ISO:17020 Accreditation

There are many companies that provide consultancy and surveying services, sometimes at what initially appears to be at low cost. However, before commissioning an organisation to undertake such work it is important to consider the risks:

● Are you confident that the organisation has the technical competence to undertake the work in question?

● Are you satisfied that the organisation has the resources to do the work?

● Are the surveyors working  to suitable codes of conduct to ensure  inspections are carried out impartially and with integrity?

● Are you confident that the organisation has an adequate quality system  in place?

● Are you satisfied that safeguards are in place,  e.g.  suitable liability insurance, in case difficulties arise?*

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“HSE strongly recommends that an accredited surveyor is used to carry out complex type 1, 2 and 3 surveys”

“The reasons for using a UKAS-accredited company are manifold.  Firstly, it is a way of ensuring the quality of the work. Secondly, we are dealing with the management of asbestos in schools and offices, and so there are clearly reputational issues at stake as well.  Using a UKAS accredited organisation is not going to necessarily increase the price of procuring a particular service.  A UKAS accredited organisation will offer value for money.

The cost of getting it wrong and re-working is phenomenally expensive.  This would not be the best use of rate payers’ money.  It is much cheaper to get it right first time.”

Hampshire County Council

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**All information has been provided as supplied courtesy of UKAS – http://www.ukas.com/media-centre/promotional-material-and-downl/brochures.asp