Volunteers and first responders from St John Cymru are a part of the first in Wales to join the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust (WAST) in the implementation of the GoodSam App, to improve survival from out of hospital cardiac arrest in Wales.
The GoodSAM app is a platform where trained and verified responders are alerted to cardiac arrests within 500 meters, through their phone, allowing responders to act quickly and help provide support to someone in a life-threatening condition, including cardiac arrest.
The Welsh Ambulance Service automatically alerts the GoodSam app to a cardiac arrest incident where up to three GoodSAM responders located near the incident are prompted asking them to attend the incident.
GoodSAM Responders will also be able to find their nearest defibrillator via the GoodSAM AED Registry.
The chances of surviving an out of hospital cardiac arrest decreases by an estimated 10% with every passing minute.
It is anticipated that the increase in the number of trained medical responders registered to the GoodSAM app will help to improve this.
“We’re delighted to be working with both GoodSAM and the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust to help deliver this vital community support.
When someone is in cardiac arrest every second counts and early, effective CPR (Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation) can significantly increase the chance of a survival.
We’ve no doubt that our volunteers and personnel from other medical uniformed organisations including the Welsh Ambulance Service who are nearby, trained and able to assist in the most life-threatening situations, will be a tremendous help in ensuring more lives across Wales will be saved.
We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust and GoodSAM for inviting us to be a part of this fantastic new initiative,”
St John Cymru Acting Chief Executive Officer, Helen Smith
Since the app went live for St John Cymru volunteers (1st August 2019), 115 have signed up across Wales providing potentially lifesaving support to local communities.
For more information about the GoodSAM app click here
More information about the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust can be found here
-Ends-