Emergency Helpers on Call - How First Aid Apps Aim to Save Lives
Local Emergency Aid System: Anticipated Life-Saving Role of Mobile Alerts - Neighborhood Rescuers - the lifesaving power of the alarmed app
In a heart-stopping moment, time is crucial. Many firefighters in Essen's training room understand this well, but they're all ears as they learn to become potential lifesavers with their smartphones and a dash of luck. As Mobile responders, they'll soon get real-time alerts alongside emergency services through an app—if they happen to be in the vicinity of an emergency.
Started in 2013, the "Mobile Rescuers" app is the country's first of its kind, now linking over 22,000 participants across nearly 40 cities and districts in six federal states.
Every second counts in a cardiac arrest situation. Germany witnesses approximately 120,000 cardiac arrests annually outside hospitals. Only 1 in 10 survives due to average nine-minute emergency service response times. First aid apps could be life-savers, say experts from the Björn Steiger Foundation, who emphasize the need for a denser network to have more impact.
In essence, after three minutes, brain death begins. There's a necessity to bridge the gap.
Brand Inspector, Jan Kuhlmann, responsible for Mobile Rescuer training at the Essen fire department, explains how this lifesaver idea sparked from a need. He observed an ambulance's flashing lights in his neighborhood and realized he could've helped sooner had he known about the emergency.
Today, several replicas have emerged: Six different systems are used in Germany, including Baden-Württemberg's "Region of Life Savers" and "Corhelper," employing thousands of first responders in the rescue chain. Schleswig-Holstein has a statewide system.
However, these are still isolated solutions, critiques Mobile Rescuer CEO, Stefan Prasse, noting different standards and missing unified technology-spanning alerts. But they all share the common goal of saving lives.
Currently, representatives of different providers are working towards establishing common standards: "Specific protocols and technology-spanning alert options would propel these apps forward."
Yet, technology can't draw out help by itself. "Constant user engagement is vital to prevent participants from deleting the app due to inactivity," advises Prasse, highlighting the potential for community events, social media integration, or success story sharing.
Emergency medicine backs the first-aider approach and pushes for statutory anchoring. "Life-saving apps are currently the best tool for improving survival chances in cardiac arrest," confesses Clemens Kill, director of the Center for Emergency Medicine in Essen and the German Society for Rescue Services and Prehospital Emergency Medicine (DGRN).
While Germany lags behind countries like Sweden and the Netherlands in bystander CPR, measures to enhance training in schools are ongoing. "It's challenging to teach something that people might only need decades later," admits Kill. Both app-aided CPR guidance and incorporating the entire 'blue light family,' including police officers and firefighters, into first-aider systems are essential for seamless emergency responses. A structured legal framework gives hope for a brighter, more responsive future.
- First aider
- First aid
- Essen
- Smartphone
- Lifesaver
- Emergency services
- Netherlands
- Fire department
- Cardiac arrest
- Germany
In the spirit of bridge-building and a more responsive future, these lifesaving apps are pushing for standardization and unified technology-spanning alerts among providers, such as Baden-Württemberg's "Region of Life Savers" and "Corhelper." Meanwhile, constant user engagement and community-centric events are essential to keep the apps active, ensuring they remain ready when needed.
With the essential integration of first-aid skills into schools and the convergence of emergency services, Germany can emulate countries like Sweden and the Netherlands in promoting bystander CPR and developing a more responsible, comprehensive emergency response system.
