Ambulance Victoria has launched a smartphone app that\u2019s already helped save the lives of two Victorians.<\/p>\n
The innovative technology called GoodSAM is rolling out following a fourmonth\u00a0pilot phase where more than 1,100 Ambulance Victoria paramedics registered as GoodSAM responders.<\/p>\n
An army of responders is set to grow into the thousands as registrations open to trained professionals such as firefighters, lifesavers, doctors and nurses.<\/p>\n
Ambulance Victoria CEO Associate Professor Tony Walker said the revolutionary app was a game changer.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoodSAM will play a key role in helping save more of the over 6000 Victorians who suffer a cardiac arrest away from hospital\u00a0every year. We\u2019ve already seen lives saved as a result of the app when off-duty Ambulance Victoria paramedics helped to save the lives of patients after responding to a GoodSAM alert,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe two lives saved in pilot phase proves that GoodSAM is transformative technology for patients in cardiac arrest and highlights the impact trained bystanders can have in the critical minutes between a Triple Zero (000) call and emergency services arriving.\u201d<\/p>\n
Every minute without CPR and defibrillation reduces someone\u2019s chance of survival from cardiac arrest by 10 per cent.\u00a0Mr Walker announced that Ambulance Victoria has partnered with St John Ambulance, Chevra Hatzolah, the Country Fire Authority (CFA), and Life Saving Victoria to grow the GoodSAM responder community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have an army of responders on board already. Victorians shouldn\u2019t be surprised if an off-duty lifesaver, doctor or firefighter arrives within minutes \u2013 they may be in their pyjamas but they are there to help save your life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt takes a community to save a life. And we are growing this community \u2013 a community that before this technology wouldn\u2019t have even known someone just a few hundred metres away needed their life-saving skills.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Walker said that while GoodSAM was an exciting innovation, it wasn\u2019t a replacement for Victoria\u2019s emergency services.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen it comes to cardiac arrest, seconds count. Bystanders have a vital role to play while emergency services make their way to the scene, and GoodSAM is all about harnessing that.<\/p>\n
The GoodSAM app allows trained and trusted medical professionals to become \u2018good Samaritans\u2019, sending an electronic
\ncall for help when people nearby are in cardiac arrest.<\/p>\n
It does so using GPS technology, notifying up to three responders of the patient\u2019s location and the closest defibrillators while emergency services are on their way.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the last decade, the odds of surviving cardiac arrest away from hospital\u00a0have more than doubled thanks to the incredible work of Victoria\u2019s emergency and health services and more bystanders stepping in to help. GoodSAM is truly a game changer in terms of how we can to work together as a community to continue to improve outcomes for cardiac arrest patients.\u201d<\/p>\n
Visit ambulance.vic.gov.au\/goodsam to find out more about GoodSAM and becoming a responder and if you own or know about an AED in the community, you can register it at registermyaed. ambulance.vic.gov.au.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ambulance Victoria has launched a smartphone app that\u2019s already helped save the lives of two Victorians. The innovative technology called GoodSAM is rolling out following a fourmonth\u00a0pilot phase where more than 1,100 Ambulance Victoria paramedics registered as GoodSAM responders. An army of responders is set to grow into the thousands as registrations open to trained […]<\/p>\n