HELP! app alerts lifesavers to emergency
A single tap on the HELP! app is all it takes to call the 112 emergency services. Once activated, the application simultaneously searches for extra help in the area via GPS. The ten people nearest to the emergency who have the HELP! app installed, are notified and can instantly see where the emergency is, as well as how they can offer first aid. If there are more than ten people available to respond to an alert, professional BIG-registered persons are called in first.
Orange Cross mobilises 330,000 emergency service providers
The Orange Cross is the leading first aid organization in the Netherlands. Around 330,000 Dutch citizens with a first aid certificate are registered by the Orange Cross. These first-aiders have now been asked by the Orange Cross to use the HELP! app. Furthermore, the Orange Cross first aid tips have been incorporated into the HELP! app.
“The Orange Cross supports the HELP! app wholeheartedly”, says Boi Jongejan, director of the Orange Cross. “It fits our mission perfectly to raise the awareness of first aid in the Netherlands. The HELP! app is a low-threshold way to stimulate citizens to render first aid. Adequate and effective actions can make all the difference.”
Swift help saves lives
When a cardiac arrest occurs, it’s crucial to start first aid within six minutes, according to the Heart Foundation website. In the Netherlands, each week around 300 people suffer a cardiac arrest. Less than 10 percent survives. First aid received within 6 minutes raises the chances of survival to 50 percent. People who happen to be nearby can play a life-saving role.
Our Mobile Generation
The app has been devised and co-developed by three students at the Rotterdam Polytechnic. Bart Blok and two of his fellow students of Media technology at the Rotterdam Polytechnic devised the HELP! app during Our Mobile Generation, an online competition to find the best ideas for sustainable apps. The HELP! app turned out to be the winner in the final on 31 May 2011. Bart Blok has been closely involved in the app’s development process. The HELP! app can be downloaded for free on iPhone or Android handsets via www.help-app.nl/download.
About Vodafone Netherlands Foundation
The Vodafone Netherlands Foundation was established in 2002 with the aim to provide independent support to social responsibility projects. Its purpose is to use mobile communication technology in creating solutions for social issues in the field of care, safety or welfare. Furthermore, the foundation organizes a number of volunteer activities employees can participate in.
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Editorial note
For more information you can contact:
Vodafone Netherlands, Corporate Affairs and ask for Bart Bakker. Telephone: +31 (0)43 35 55 222, e-mail: press.nl@vodafone.com.
Enviu, Vibeke Helder, Manager Communications & PR. Telephone: 06-41500836, e-mail: vibeke@enviu.org.
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