A Kirklees firm has helped to create a buzz for a child-friendly ambulance.

The world’s first interactive ambulance service designed especially for children – the BUMBLEance – has been gifted an assortment of state-of-the-art equipment and technology by Ferno and partner group company Acetech.

BUMBLEance, based in Ireland, was launched at the beginning of September. The ambulance, which looks like a giant bumble bee, has been kitted out with the latest technology, but 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.

BUMBLEance has a 19-inch LED TV, a Playstation games console, an 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.

Ferno, which makes and supplies patient handling equipment, donated a trolley complete with its latest anti-microbial pressure-reducing mattress and harness and restraints.

The company also donated a locking mechanism to secure the 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.”

Cleckheaton-based Ferno has also teamed up with Cambridge-based Nebulair Technologies to supply one of its Nebulair decontamination systems to BUMBLEance for free.

The system uses patented dry mist technology to decontaminate an area and is ideal for use in hospitals, nursing homes, ambulances, schools, vets, offices, trains and aeroplanes.

In addition, Ferno has installed its vehicle intelligence system ACETECH into the BUMBLEance. ACETECH is a vehicle performance monitoring and control system for ambulances and other emergency response vehicles which provides on-board intelligence to help reduce operating and fuel costs.

Tony Heffernan, founder of the Saoirse Foundation, said: “We have been very lucky to receive fantastic support from every sector of Irish society and companies like Ferno, ACETECH and Nebulair.

“The Saoirse Foundation receives no state funding for this service and is reliant on support from the business community and members of the public.”