Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Heading off to Moving & Handling People 2013

We’re heading off to Moving & Handling People 2013 where we have a stand to show off our extensive range of “people handling equipment” – you can find us at stand 21-A for a demonstration or to discuss any requirements you may have.
The exhibition runs from January 31 to February 1 at the Business Design Centre, Islington in north London.
Moving & Handling People 2013 is designed to help individual practitioners and service providers review work practices to ensure safety and efficiency now and ‘future proof’ systems in which care and facilitating moving and handling activities is required. By demonstrating robust work practices, a healthcare provider is ‘proofing’ its services to ensure a high standard of care and safety for client and carer, which also anticipates future developments.
Good work practices are adaptable to change; maintain and develop safe practices; reduce risk of injury and minimise insurance costs.
Different environments set challenges for the carers and organisations have a responsibility to provide information and training for workers to ensure that they work safely to reduce the risk of injury to both themselves and the person being moved, as well as respecting their client’s dignity and comfort.
Where assistance is required there is the need to assess the activity in order to identify the safest way of achieving the moving and handling task. The principles of safe practice will be discussed and reviewed through the programme and taken practically into the interactive workshops.
We will be tweeting over the next couple of days from @fernoukltd with hashtag #mhp2013.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

UK funeral homes take the weight

For some time now we have been warning people in the medical profession about the dangers of handling obese patients. The growing bariatric problem means that many paramedics, nurses and hospital porters risk injuring themselves when transporting patients.
That’s why we have developed a wide range of bariatric equipment, from chairs to trolleys, to take the strain of people backs.
It was interesting to read then that the UK’s growing obesity problem is now impacting on funeral directors and morticians.
This week several newspapers ran a story about a Ken funeral director who has been forced to spend £40,000 on “super-sizing” his business to cope with increasingly obese ‘clients’.
John Weir is believed to be the first funeral home owner in Britain to take the drastic measure. Mr Weir, who has been a funeral director for 40 years, has installed a hoist that can lift 50 stone, widened doorways and bought wider, reinforced steel trolleys, jumbo-sized fridges and bigger gowns.
Some of the bodies are so large, health and safety laws mean they cannot be carried to their funerals. So the undertaker had to buy reinforced trollies to wheel the coffins into the church or crematorium.
Hospital morgues and crematoriums across Britain have already made alterations — including super-sized furnaces, to cope with the nation’s expanding waistline.
Mr Weir told how one dead person weighed 31 stone. And he said: “Over the last five years there has been a serious rise in the number of obese people we are arranging funerals for. Sometimes we can have two obese funerals to deal with a week and it was becoming a problem fitting their bodies into our mortuary fridges.
“We also have to take people’s weight into account when we organise services as usually if someone is obese, they can’t be carried into a chapel or church by their loved ones or pallbearers.
“Everything has to be bigger, the chapel doors have been widened, we’ve had to buy wider, longer and sturdier trolleys and even have to get bigger shrouds and gowns.”
Statistics show just over a quarter of adults in the UK are now classified obese, up from 21 per cent in 2000.
Hospital admissions where the primary diagnosis is obesity have skyrocketed from 1,054 in 2000/01 to 11,574 in 2010/11.
We will shortly be writing a more detailed piece on how to avoid injuries in the funeral home and offer some insight into our new products that will assist funeral directors and morticians – so watch this space.

Friday, January 18, 2013

Jon gets on his bike again

As news of the route of the Tour de France’s Grand Depart through Yorkshire emerged yesterday our very own Jon Ellis has revealed he will be doning the lycra again and getting on his bike.
Jon, however, will not be joining the Tour de France’s peleton. Instead he is opting to do his third charity bike ride in aid of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance – one of Ferno’s chosen charities.
He has signed up for The Pedal for Pounds 4 bike ride  from Huddersfield through Hull, Scarborough, Harrogate and back to  Huddersfield in aid of the Keep It Up campaign. It costs £7,200 per day to keep both Yorkshire Air Ambulance helicopters operational all from charitable funds.
The bike ride, which will leave Huddersfield on the morning of Wednesday, May 1 will see more than 300 cyclists making the three-and-a-half day journey to arrive at John Smiths Stadium, Huddersfield on Saturday, May 4 in time for Town’s last home game of the season.
Every donation counts so if you wish to support Jon and the campaign you can donate here at Just Giving.

AW Lymn The Family Funeral Service takes delivery of new body lifting stretchers

Left to right: Nigel Lymn-Rose, managing director of AW Lymn The Family Funeral Service, with Chris King and Penelope North, both of Ferno, and Matthew Lymn-Rose.
Our friends at funeral directors AW Lymn The Family Funeral Service are ensuring the health and well-being of staff after taking delivery of a new range of our lightweight body lifting stretchers from.
The company, one of the Midlands' largest and longest established funeral businesses, has chosen the  bespoke-designed Model 11 Stretchers for its funeral homes across Nottinghamshire and South Derbyshire and the choice of 50 units represents  the largest single order in the UK for Ferno’s ‘first-call’ stretcher.
AW Lymn The Family Funeral Service is well established family business with 24 offices in the East Midlands. Nigel Lymn Rose, managing director, said: “We were looking for a new range of stretchers which were kitted out with the latest technology and innovations and would also help protect our employees from injuries whilst lifting and carrying. The Model 11 Stretcher is the perfect solution.
“Ferno were able to meet our specific requirements, even able to incorporate our company logo on to each stretcher. The quality of the product is outstanding and customer service has been excellent throughout.”
The Model 11 stretcher is a simple and economical first call stretcher which provides more control and ensures the safety of users to prevent accidents and injury. It has two front wheels for easy maneuvering over all surfaces and folds in half when not in use for easy carrying and storage. It also includes two quick-release patient restraints, a footrest and a carry case.
Chris King, business development manager at Ferno, added: “Our bespoke manufacturing service is something we are very proud of and the ability of Ferno to meet AW Lymn The Family Funeral Service’s exact requirements was crucial in securing this order. We like to work closely with, and listen to, our customers’ needs so that we can deliver a product which meets their needs and offers good value for money.
“An increasing concern for those operating in the funeral sector, and indeed all the sectors we deal with, is the health and safety of employees whilst lifting and carrying and the prevention of related injuries. Ferno is responding to this by developing products which are innovative and ultimately make life easier and safer for workers.”
Ferno also offers a range of stretchers, trolleys and refrigeration units for the funeral and mortuary sector as well as an extensive after-sales service with repair and maintenance.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Evacuation audit for Appleton Academy

One of West Yorkshire’s newest schools, the Appleton Academy, has asked Ferno to provide an evacuation audit to ensure the school can safely evacuate all pupils, staff and visitors from the site in the event of an emergency.
The creation of the Appleton Academy in Wyke, Bradford, replaces Wyke Manor School and High Fernley Primary School with a new three-to-16 all-through Academy, providing an exciting and inspirational learning environment.
Ferno will also supply our popular Saver Safe Evacuation Chair to help the Academy meet the requirements of the Equality Act.
The Appleton Academy will specialise in Science and Sport and will be supported by  Bradford College, which has a track record in Science stretching back 175 years.  The College has recently made significant investments in Sports facilities and partnerships which will enhance the Academy’s curriculum.
A significant number of Ferno customers operating across a whole range of industries and sectors are struggling with new health and safety legislation such as the Equality Act 2010 and the fire safety Regulatory Reform Order 2005.
These two major changes in law mean companies have to take responsibility for the evacuation of everyone on their site, whether they are employees, visitors or contractors, and that particular attention needs to be paid to procedures for disabled, injured or unwell persons. As a result we have developed an Evacuation Audit service which helps companies understand what measures they must put in place to quickly and safely evacuate a building and comply with regulations.
Meanwhile, we have also supplied a Saver Safe Evacuation Chairs to Huddersfield Town’s Canalside Complex which has been expanding its operations over recent months with a new two-story academy building. The chair will ensure that the Canalside Complex meets the requirements of the Equality Act.

 

Friday, January 11, 2013

Come an see us at the Fire Protection Seminar

Next week a team from Ferno will be attending the Passive Firec Protection Seminar organised by Checkmate Fire and the Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust.
On Tuesday, January 15 we will be at the Walsall Manor Learning & Conference Centre with many other in the fire prevention and emergency and health service to consider how hospitals and others can protect themselves from fire hazards. Other attending include the Building Research Establishment, Checkmate Fire and Fireco.
Speakers include Richard Kirby, chief executive of Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, Checkmate Fire’s Clive Reilly who will talk about ‘Ensuring Fire Compliance: An Action Plan’ and Aviva’s Allister Smith who will offer an insurer’s perspective on the essential principle for the fire protection of buildings.
As usual we will be showcasing our kit so do stop and say hello.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Back to work and Happy New Year!

We’re all back at work at Ferno after the Christmas shut down – and I am sure everyone had a great break spending time with family and friends over the festive season.
When we shut up shop on December 21 we had a our own little party at our Cleckheaton HQ where staff enjoyed a festive pizza buffet. The attached photo is of me presenting Penny North with the best Christmas fancy dress prize after Penny was unanimously voted the winner by her colleagues.
Here’s wishing everyone a very Happy New Year.
                                                                                             By Jon Ellis