Since it launched in Australia in 2018 almost two dozen lives have been saved thanks to the “Good Samaritan” smartphone alert which dispatches bystanders with first aid training to nearby cardiac emergencies.
Here’s a story about how a doctors life was recently saved by an off duty paramedic thanks to the GoodSAM app.
Those who sign up to the GoodSAM smartphone app will receive an alert when a call is made to 000 about a Sudden Cardiac Arrest in their area. While an ambulance is dispatched the three closest people registered on the App will be given the address of the patient and the location of the nearest defibrillator so they can rush to help before paramedics arrive.
This app is now being expanded to all Victorians who are not only paramedics, medical professionals and emergency services personnel, but also those who have completed a nationally accredited first aid training course, with the hopes of signing up another 20,000 volunteers.
As Acting Premier Lisa Neville says, “with a sudden cardiac arrest, every single second makes a difference…being able to have someone right there on the spot can actually save lives”.
