Heart-Pounding Aiders on Standby - How Technology Bridges the Life-and-Death Gap
Emergency Aid at Hand: App Alerts Potentially Saving Lives - Neighborhood Helpers: Unraveling the Life-Saving Potential of the App-Alarm System
When it's all about saving a life, every second counts! Most volunteer firefighters at the Essen fire station are well aware of this fact. However, they're extra attentive during training sessions, learning to become potential lifesavers with their first aid knowledge, smartphones, and a dash of chance. As part of a growing network, they'll soon be on-call via an app - right when they're nearby an emergency.
Known as Mobile Rescuers, they'll be simultaneously notified alongside the emergency services. The concept, originally launched in 2013 as Germany's first first aider alerting system, now links around 22,500 participants in nearly 40 cities and districts across six federal states.
Seconds: the difference between life and death
The numbers speak for themselves: Over 120,000 people nationwide suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest each year, with only one in ten surviving - due in part to the nine minutes it takes for emergency services to arrive. First aider apps, already established in Scandinavia and the Netherlands, can make all the difference, emphasize experts from the Björn Steiger Foundation in their position paper.
"After three minutes, brain cells start to die. We need to fill this gap." explains Brand Inspector Jan Kuhlmann, responsible for Mobile Rescuer training at the Essen fire department. With Essen serving as one of the first major city control centers to adopt the Mobile Rescuer principle, the system becomes all the more valuable in rural areas, long distances, and dense traffic.
Laypeople with a Cause
In Essen, many firefighters, nurses, emergency helpers, and doctors are listed as first aiders. But it's not a one-time first aid course for a driver's license, stresses Kuhlmann. "The control center must be sure that the person they send out can do it."
Since the app's introduction in 2019 in Essen, over 1,000 helpers have been alerted about 1,900 times and have responded about 550 times - averaging three and a half minutes on the scene, often before the emergency services.
A Lifesaver Idea Born Out of Necessity
The idea for the app originated from East Westphalian emergency physician Ralf Stroop, who witnessed the flashing lights of an ambulance in his neighborhood. He realized he could have helped earlier - if only he had known about the emergency in time. That was the spark that led to the life-saving concept.
A Patchwork of Systems
Today, a number of imitators have emerged, such as the "Region of Life Savers," mostly active in Baden-Württemberg, or the "Corhelper" app, which counts thousands of first aiders within the rescue chain. Schleswig-Holstein has implemented a system statewide.
"These are still isolated solutions with different standards in the details," says Mobile Rescuer CEO Stefan Prasse. "But we all share the goal of saving lives," he emphasizes.
Emergency doctors: Call for Legal Foundations
While representatives of various providers collaborate to establish common standards, technology alone isn't enough, argues Prasse. "If nothing happens after registration for months, the risk increases that participants will delete the app." Active volunteer management helps prevent this, he explains. Anything that connects with the project is conceivable: joint activities, networking via social media, or sharing success stories.
Emergency medicine supports the first aider approach and advocates for comprehensive and legal anchoring. "Currently, these apps are the most effective means of improving OHCA survival rates," says Clemens Kill, director of the Center for Emergency Medicine in Essen and chairman of the German Society for Rescue Services and Prehospital Emergency Medicine (DGRN).
"Ideal would be if every citizen knew what to do - and did it," he explains. However, the reality is different: Bystander CPR rates in Germany remain lower compared to other countries like Sweden or the Netherlands, despite efforts to intensify training in schools.
Involve 'Blue Light' Family
"It's naturally tough to teach people something they usually won't need until decades later," says Kill. The approach of guiding callers through resuscitation by staff at the emergency control center over the phone is inconsistently practiced at all control centers.
"We must integrate the entire 'blue light' family into first aider systems. Even police officers and firefighters know how to perform CPR," demands Kill. Whether an emergency control center works with an app or not should not be left to the voluntary engagement of individuals. "It can't be that the state, when it comes to life and death, simply hopes that people will come together and set something up," he emphasizes. "This must be included in the legal foundations of the rescue service."
- First aider
- First aid
- Germany
- Death
- Fire department
- Apps
- Netherlands
- Lifesaver
- Mobile
- Scandinavia
Enrichment Data:The implementation of first aid apps like Mobile Rescuers can significantly improve response times and survival rates for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. By notifying trained and untrained first responders near an emergency, these apps encourage immediate action, reducing the time to first aid.
In comparison to countries like Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands, Germany stands to gain from the integration of these technologies in its emergency response systems by increasing bystander CPR rates and minimizing the time to first aid.
Studies show that digital technologies, including mobile apps, are efficient tools for coordinating emergency responses. The use of these apps in Germany can lead to better survival rates; however, their effectiveness also relies on broader systemic factors, such as the availability of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) and the overall efficiency of emergency medical services.
Key aspects for the successful implementation of first aid apps include widespread adoption, effective coordination with emergency services, and public awareness and engagement.
- In the context of promoting health-and-wellness and saving lives, the implementation of vocational training programs for first aid and CPR could be advantageous, as demonstrated by the success of the Mobile Rescuers app in Germany, which was initially launched for first aid knowledge and smartphone usage.
- Furthermore, the integration of technology, such as science-backed first aider apps, into community policy and emergency response systems can significantly improve outcomes for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, thereby bridging the life-and-death gap as seen in countries like Scandinavia and the Netherlands.
