Ferno on the field: Belgium vs Germany

Ferno was on the field of play again last night - this time at the Men's Hockey Match between Belgium and Germany on Day 3 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Riverbank Arena.
Tom Boon of Belgium was carried off on a Ferno Model 17 backet stretcher after being struck in the head by the ball.
Ferno had more than its 15 minutes of fame thanks to numerous television appearances this year - including in the new World Cup advert for Mars (see earlier post here). A fact recently picked up on by Ambulance Life.
Over the past few weeks eagle-eyed viewers will have seen the Ferno Pioneer Trolley and Model 71 stretcher in the latest advert for one of the nation’s favourite chocolate bars as medics rush to the aid of England’s goalkeeper during a penalty shoot-out.
But this isn’t the first time our products have appeared on our screens. Long-running medical dramas Holby City and Casualty often feature Ferno products and earlier this year the company was featured in the Channel 5’s Big Body Squad, a fly-on-the wall documentary about the challenges faced by the medical profession with over-weight patients.
Ferno stretchers and other medical equipment appear on television channels almost weekly at televised sporting events. The Ferno Model 71 basket stretcher is often used to carry injured footballers off the field of play and earlier this year a Ferno basket stretcher appeared at 158th Oxford and Cambridge boat race after bowman Alex Wood collapsed from exhaustion.
When we see our stretchers and trolleys on television being used at sporting events around the country, it is a testament to Ferno being one of the most trusted manufacturers of safety and health equipment in the industry.
We regularly see our products being used in the hospital dramas but it was a great surprise when we saw our stretcher and trolley pop up in the new Mars advert. It is always a boost when we see our products on the small screen.

Scottish national gallery is using our EZ Glide chair

Scotland’s National Gallery has acquired the new EZ Glide® PowerTraxx™ chair along with specialist training support from yours truly.
The National Gallery will use the chair to manoeuvre disabled or injured visitors during emergency situations, increasing the safety and wellbeing of visitors to the gallery.
The EZ Glide has been designed to meet the demanding needs of medical and disaster response services, and enables the moving of patients up and down stairs with the touch of a button, eliminating the need for lifting or carrying and reducing the risk of injury to medical staff.
This is the first chair of its kind in the industry. It has multiple uses as a stair chair, evacuation chair or transport chair and is suitable for many different environments.
Our work with the National Gallery is a perfect example of what we can offer to our customers in terms of service delivery – not only a great product but also high quality support training to ensure they get the very best out of their investment.”
Because the chair weighs in at only 27kg the operator can easily control the chair at all times and is able to slow, stop, and reverse the direction of the chair at the touch of a button.
Specialist training was delivered by Ferno’s training partner, North East & Yorkshire Healthcare Service (NEYHS), a national training organisation with many years experience and an excellent track record for delivering high quality and cost effective training programmes.
A particular area of expertise is our ability to ‘customise’ and ‘tailor’ courses and programmes to suit a wide range of customer and clients’ needs, which is what we did with the National Gallery.
“The EZ Glide chair will be extremely useful” said Michael Clarke, Director of the Scottish National Gallery. “The practicality and ease of use of the chair will help the Gallery aid disabled visitors as well as ensuring the safety of all visitors in the event of an accident or emergency.
“We found the training programme to be invaluable. It gave us the opportunity to learn about the full potential of the chair and all its uses, meaning that we are likely to use it far more than we would have done.”

On goal for Yorkshire Air Ambulance

We did our bit for charity by getting on our bikes and cycling from Yeovil Town to the Galpharm Stadium to raise cash for Yorkshire Air Ambulance’s Keep It Up Campaign – see earlier stories here.
Now we’ve pulled on our football boots to raise further funds for this good cause. Some 120 Town fans who completed the 277 mile trip from Yeovil – including our very own Jon Ellis – have taken part in a six-a-side soccer tournament at the Zone in Huddersfield.
The two winning teams will play out the final at the Galpharm (soon to called the John Smith Stadium) when Town take on Nottingham on August 21.
Organiser Rob Siswick said: “It was a great event and we raised £993 for the appeal, to help Yorkshire Air Ambulance and the club’s Academy.”

Meet our new weight lifter

Our new Harrier LT is a lightweight trolley which combines exceptional lifting power with a high capacity battery. It is the only powered ambulance trolley in the UK capable of lifting up to 350kg – and it will perform an amazing 77 lifts of 100kg with just a single battery charge.
As you can see from the video it has no problem lifting four people with ease.
Ambulance trolleys need to be easily maneuverable and quickly secured within the vehicle - these considerations are an absolute must. But to perform the task to maximum efficiency you also need a trolley which can lift and carry heavier patients without risk of injury to the operator and without needing frequent battery charges.
The Ferno Harrier LT and Harrier LT LBS fulfils this criteria and with all the different options and accessories available it is one of our most adaptable ambulance trolleys yet.
The Harrier LT is configurable to different customer needs and requirements and includes an LBS version for carrying larger patients. There are several options and accessories designed to improve its ease of use and reduce manual handling injuries including a directional wheel lock, a removable headrest pad and a wired remote control keypad.
The trolley uses optimum performance low resistance wheels and has various operator push/pull handles and push-pole options for improved maneuverability. It also has excellent hygiene and infection control and is IPC compliant, incorporating an anti-microbial paint finish, Silver Biosafe harness restraints and an easy to clean pressure-relief mattress.
The smooth powered lifting action with slow start-stop movements guarantees complete patient comfort while also ensuring operator safety and reflective strips on the top, base and x-frame rails ensures increased visibility at night.

We've launched a flexible body fridge for funeral sector

For anyone operating in the funeral sector they might be interested to learn that we have  launched a new range of compact body fridges for permanent or flexible cold storage.
The Compact Body Fridge was developed to answer a long-standing demand from mortuaries and funeral parlours looking for a competitively-priced chilled space solution in confined areas.
Quickly and easily assembled in a wide variety of locations, the Compact Body Fridge uses a unique track and roller system, for ease of installation, with a two-way pelmet to keep the cold in, and ambient air out.  The versatility of the system means that a Compact Body Fridge of any shape and size can be assembled to match any environment.
Arthur Kershaw Funeral Services in Sale, Cheshire, installed one six months ago and they have given us some great feedback. Philip Beardsley, funeral director, said: “We were looking for a new refrigeration unit which would fit in well at our premises and Ferno was my first port of call. It is a well established company which we have a good relationship with and I have always found their products to be good value and fit-for-purpose.
“The refrigeration unit is a modern piece of technology, which is easy to maintain and can be adapted to fit any size of work area. It is also very easy to work with in terms of accessibility and avoids the need to pull out trays; instead we simply draw back the curtain. It fits the bill perfectly.”
A Flexible Body Fridge is also available as a temporary solution for mortuary and funeral parlours which only need a cold-storage unit on an ad hoc basis. It can also be used in the field by emergency services to store bodies in the event of a major disaster resulting in mass casualties.
Ferno’s Jon Ellis of Ferno, said: “We developed the Compact Body Fridge following demand from our customers in the funeral and mortuary sector who were looking for a cost effective alternative to big fixed chiller units.
“When not in use the Compact Body Fridge can simply be folded away, freeing up space and cutting energy bills.”
Operational in minutes, the Compact Body Fridges are a modern, inexpensive and practical solution where high capacity chilled storage is urgently required. Key features include:

• Effective preservation awaiting transfer of bodies to hospitals or funeral parlours
• Easy to move or extend one already installed
• Highly economical - using power only when required
• Lightweight, hardwearing curtains - easy to clean and repair
• Cold lock skirt adjusts to uneven floors
• Ferno can provide a free site survey before advising on the best Compact Body Fridge unit for your premises before installation.

We also offer a range of refrigeration products including cold chambers and refrigerated tables. Preparation equipment ranges from lifting equipment, embalming and autopsy tables and mortuary trolleys. Restroom equipment includes church and showroom trolleys, trestles and biers.

New recruits for Ferno

David Spence (left) and Lee Searle

We are pleased to announce that Lee Searle and David Spence have joined Ferno as business development managers.
Lee joins Ferno as BDM Industry South and David will be BDM Scotland & North East.
He has previously worked in sales at Comet Group Plc, Thomson Local, Concept Publishing and most recently at the Fire Protection Association. Lee qualified with a Ba Honours in Business Administration and Marketing Information Systems. Lee lives with his wife Sharon in Gloucestershire.
Lee’s hobbies are badminton, hill walking, camping and watching the Gloucester Rugby (cherry & whites) team.
David has previously worked at SEMA Medical Services, Countrywide Residential Lettings, Welcome Finance, City of Edinburgh Council, HSBC Bank, Ukio Bank and most recently an Account Manager at Arco.
He lives in Lothian, Scotland with his partner Alexandra and spends family time with his three children Daniel, 10, Sean, 7 and Hannah, 6.
David’s hobbies are playing football, badminton and golf when he manages to get some spare time.
We wish David and Lee every success in their new positions and welcome them on board as part of the Ferno team.

Say hello to David Ryan

Congratulations to Jo Ryan, Ferno’s HRBP on the arrival of her second child David Arthur Ryan born on July 14. David weighs 6lbs 8oz and both Jo and baby are doing well.
All your friends and colleagues at Ferno wish Jo, Dan and sister Emily, aged three, all the best on their new addition to Ryan family.

Welcoming Mark to the Ferno team

We are pleased to announce that Mark Williams has commenced work with Ferno in the position of Telesales Executive.
Mark has extensive telesales experience having previously worked at John Rigby Steel Ltd, JCT600 Car Sales, Folding Sliding Door Company, based in Bradford, and also as a self-employed sales consultant.
Mark lives locally in Hunsworth Lane and has done for the last 15 years with his wife Joanne. Mark has three children all at High School, Stephen, 16, Kate 14, and Rachael, 13.
Mark’s hobbies are gardening, music, history and he is a Bradford City season ticket holder having supported them for 30 years (well I suppose someone has to!).
We wish Mark every success in his new position and welcome him on board as part of the Ferno team.
                                                                                                       By Jon Ellis

A warm Ferno welcome to Hadar

Last week we had two visitors from Hadar Training & Medical Services Limited, our distributor in Israel, to our head office in Cleckheaton.
They were Yitshak Paz, Chairman of the Board and David Cygler, President. Founded in 1987, Hadar Training and Medical Services is a leading provider of first aid, resuscitation, EMT, ATLS, and trauma training and medical programmes.  It is also a leader in the importation and marketing of emergency medical equipment to community and field hospitals, and in the conversion and supply of mobile intensive care units and ambulances.
Meeting with Yitshak and David gave Ferno an opportunity to show them some of the latest innovations at the company and further forge our links with a valued partner.
The picture shows, left to right, Michael Shaw, Ashley Dawes, Yitshak Paz, Margaret Merkle, David Cygler and Jon Ellis.