Archive for November, 2009

24 November 2009 » Press releases

Obesity and sleeping at the wheel

Two items caught my eye in the Autumn 2009 issue of Column (Journal of National Back Exchange) which are both worrying, but taken together are alarming.  The first refers to recent figures from the Department of Health that shows the number of hospital admissions of people with obesity has almost tripled in the last five years.  When seen in greater detail, the largest increase was in the 18 – 30 year old age group.

These figures confirm what we are constantly being told, that there is an “obesity epidemic” in the UK and, apparently in most of the affluent countries of the world.  This has serious implications for our health service and society in general.  However, taken with the next article in Column the implications are far more serious than that.

Dr Bertrand de Silva, a specialist in sleep disorder highlights the dangers of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and its link to obesity.  He believes the condition should be a cause for concern for 25% of UK drivers.  Dr de Silva says “only 15% of OSA sufferers have been diagnosed so, despite the dangers, the majority are oblivious that they have the condition.  It is now recognised that OSA, which causes daytime sleepiness, doubles the risk of road accidents.”

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05 November 2009 » Press releases

Promove emergency evacuation sling selling like hot cakes!

In recent months Promove UK Ltd has received two major orders for its emergency evacuation sling from Kent Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) and Central Scotland FRS.

Launched just over a year ago the emergency evacuation device manufacturer is now in its second year of trading and going from strength to strength. One in three of all UK FRS has trialled the Promove sling and to date, well over half of these have purchased with more intending to do so..

William Robb from Central Scotland FRS said: “Having faced the challenges of handling bariatric individuals we were keen to trial the Promove sling and immediately saw what a versatile rescue device it is. Read more