Supersize Patients Starting to Outweigh Ambulance Service Provision

As obesity in the UK reaches epidemic proportions, Ferno UK is calling for an urgent collaboration on the issue to prepare the ambulance service industry for the challenges ahead.

Front line staff have been experiencing and dealing with the effects of bariatrics for years and in ****, new ambulances had to be introduced with wider ramps and strengthened floors to accommodate the rise in obese patients (those with a BMI of 30 or over).

Ferno UK, one of the world's leading emergency response suppliers, is now announcing a partnership approach to the issue by setting up a working party with ambulance builders to drive the industry forward. By working hand in hand with ambulance builders, Ferno aims to share best practice and opinions to produce the next generation of fully integrated equipment.

At the moment, bariatric transport is not uniform or available nationally and manufacturers are challenged with creating a larger supply for an ever increasing demand.

Ferno has ambitious plans to develop the concept of how ambulance services administer bariatric transportation. By developing testing centres and working with the ambulance builders to test Bariatric ambulances carrying a range of specialised equipment, Ferno hopes to test over and above the SME standards, ensuring the equipment and ambulance withstand all eventualities. As the population increases in weight, 90kg dummies will be tested instead of the standard 75kg.

Jon Ellis, Managing Director of Ferno UK, comments: "As obesity continues to rise we are addressing the ways we can respond to patient needs but, at the same time, ambulance staff health and safety is paramount and has to be a primary concern. We feel it's imperative to work in conjunction with the ambulance builders in order to provide a holistic view of bariatric care and produce one tailored offering to the NHS. We are also developing more advanced bariatric equipment which we will be on the market later this year."

Many manufacturers, including Ferno, have invested thousands of man hours over the years to deliver reinforced stretchers double the width of standard stretchers. The Harrier, which came onto the market in ****has been successfully used by West Midlands Ambulance Service since its inception and benefits from extensions on each side to accommodate patients weighing up to 250kilos. The stretcher is designed with a winch to help reduce manual handling by staff in order to minimise potential injury. The safe working load has also been increased to 250kilos and feature clamps have been invented to hold this amount of weight onto the ambulance floor when in transit.

And to prove that the UK doesn't have exclusivity on this growing problem, Ferno has also started producing bariatric products for Denmark and Germany as well as breaking into the Dutch market. Jon concludes: "There is growing concern around the world regarding the state of bariatric care; we have had requests come in for stretchers that can withstand 450kg - to put that into context, it is the equivalent weight of five Mike Tyson's.

"Our priority at the moment is establishing a safe and successful bariatric care programme that can be rolled out across the NHS, we're confident we're going to deliver this by working directly with the ambulance vehicle builders."