GoodSam app revolutionises emergency response efforts

Around 1,000 Irish people are using a potentially life-saving smartphone app that alerts medical personnel to cardiac arrests and life-threatening emergencies.

Entitled GoodSam, the app was launched last year and is in use by members of the public and medical professionals internationally.

Anywhere between 20 and 40 alerts a day occur in London alone, app co-creator Mr Mark Wilson, London-based neurosurgeon and helicopter emergency service doctor, informed delegates at the Cork meeting.

In a presentation on developing medical apps, Mr Wilson explained that GoodSam works by allowing a member of the public to call for help via their smartphone.

The app alerts nearby doctors, paramedics and nurses, who can tend to a patient quicker than an ambulance in some cases, depending on their location.

Health professionals in various countries can register as a Good Samaritan to assist app users in emergencies.

In the case where an app user dials 999, a message for help is circulated via the app, thanks to its integration with emergency service dispatches.

This function is not integrated within the computer-aided dispatch system in Ireland, however, Dr Wilson pointed out.

The app has 13,000 registered defibrillators and has issued more than 4,000 alerts to date.