The world’s-first interactive ambulance service designed especially for children has been gifted an assortment of state-of-the-art equipment and technology by patient handling manufacturer, Ferno, and partner group company, Acetech.
BUMBLEance is based in Ireland and was launched at the beginning of September. The ambulance, which looks like a giant bumble bee, has been kitted out with the latest technology, yet has been designed with the needs of children in mind. The Saoirse Foundation - the charity behind the service - has created a fun environment for sick children to travel to and from hospitals and medical centres for scheduled appointments.
An ambulance journey can be an unnerving and sometimes frightening experience for anyone, but even more so for children
Ferno, based in west Yorkshire, has donated a Pegasus trolley complete with its latest antimicrobial pressure-reducing mattress and Biosafe harness and restraints. The company also donated a NMI Track Lock to secure the Pegasus trolley in the BUMBLEance safely and allow it to be positioned either on the offside or centre of the vehicle for patient treatment.
Jon Ellis, managing director of Ferno, said: “This is a great initiative and one which Ferno is extremely proud to support and be a part of. An ambulance journey can be an unnerving and sometimes frightening experience for anyone, but even more so for children. I am sure that BUMBLEance will have a positive impact on all the children they transport, as well as their parents and carers.”
Ferno has also teamed up with Nebulair Technologies to supply one of its Nebulair decontamination systems to BUMBLEance for free. The Nebulair NS500 uses patented dry mist technology to decontaminate an area.
Pierre Labat, director at Nebulair Technologies, said: “The system offers protection against a wide range of harmful pathogens including MRSA, norovirus, C.difficile, swine flu and salmonella. An ultrasonic nebuliser delivers a water-based high level disinfectant and the ultra light ‘dry mist ' sanitises all exposed surfaces, as well as the air within the target area, ensuring that any airborne pathogens are also destroyed and no infection hotspots are missed.
“We are pleased to be working with Ferno to donate one of our systems for use within the BUMBLEance – a fantastic service for children who are poorly as well as for their families which I am in no doubt makes a huge difference to them during difficult times.”
In addition, Ferno has installed its vehicle intelligence system, ACETECH, into the BUMBLEance. This is a fully-integrated vehicle performance monitoring and control system for ambulances and other emergency response vehicles which provides onboard intelligence to help reduce operating and fuel costs. The system is the first of its kind for UK emergency vehicles and interconnects four key modules that offer customised monitoring and control of all vehicle electronics - driving, driver restraint systems, GPS-based monitoring, tyre pressure monitoring and control of fleet vehicle assets in the field.
BUMBLEance provides stress-reducing journeys for children in state-of-the-art, safe, fun vehicles
BUMBLEance has a 19inch LED TV, Playstation games console, iPad Mini and a dual channel Wi-Fi hotspot which enables the ambulance to communicate, allowing live streaming from the internet, Skype calls and more.
It will transport children from across Ireland, both urban and rural locations, to wherever they are to be treated in a vehicle that has been brightly decorated inside and out. Two parents or carers can travel alongside the child and paramedics are fully qualified with specialist paediatric skills.
Tony Heffernan, founder of the Saoirse Foundation, said: “BUMBLEance provides stress-reducing journeys for children in state-of-the-art, safe, fun vehicles. Every parent knows that an ambulance journey with a child can be very traumatic however within BUMBLEance, fun will be the medicine of the day.”
