New app launched to improve heart attack survival rates in Rutland
The GoodSamaritan app will alert volunteers and first aiders to someone who is in cardiac arrest.
Local 999 medical emergency volunteers are collaborating with East Midlands Ambulance Service to improve cardiac arrest survival rates in Lyddington.
The initiative is looking to utilise the latest technology and life-saving equipment to improve the chance of survival for anyone who suffers from a cardiac arrest.
Of the 31,995 cardiac arrests attended by the English Ambulance Services annually, the survival rate is currently 8.5%.
Peter Ralph, DR Coordinator, said: “evidence shows that we could improve this (8.5%) to around 25% with the right equipment, support and education. This means we could save over 5000 lives a year in the UK if we get things right."
"Working with EMAS and members of the public, we are excited to be able to utilise the GoodSAM App to help bring trained people to the patient faster.”
A new app, called GoodSAM is being launched to help save lives in the community by bringing someone trained in CPR to the side of the patient within minutes.
This individual will be on scene within a few minutes and be able to start CPR if they are within 800m of the person suffering a cardiac arrest. This distance is important as statistics show that someone suffering a cardiac arrest without CPR and a defibrillator being used, their chance of survival decreases by up to 10% a minute.
Volunteers will install the GoodSAM app on their phones and it will alert them via the EMAS Control room to a cardiac arrest. The App runs in the background waiting for an alert.
EMAS will be providing life support training to the group of local volunteers who will be known as HeartShield Responders. They will be taught what to do in an emergency and how to manage the scene prior to the arrival of the EMAS front-line response – i.e. Darley First Responders and EMAS.
Ben Ryrie, Community Support Officer at EMAS said: “The Heartshield Responder trial forms part of EMAS’ Resuscitation Strategy. We are delighted that Darley First Responders have agreed to work with us in delivering the benefits of the GoodSAM App to one of our two trial sites.
“I am very impressed that Darley First Responders are combining this with a full review of the defibrillators within the district. It will create a HeartShield for the community and mean that between EMAS, Darley First Responders and the community we are all doing everything we can to save Allestree’s residents who suffer an out of hospital cardiac arrest.”
The work has already begun in locating and mapping defibrillators so that DFR can understand what is needed to fill the gaps.
The new defibrillators will be managed by DFR who will support with maintenance, as well as ensuring all devices are registered on The Circuit, the national defibrillator database used by UK ambulance services.