PRESS EVENT: NORTH EAST SWITCH ON TO SAVE LIVES
WHAT:
North East Ambulance Service will be switching on GoodSam, a mobile app that alerts community first responders to an incident, in an attempt to boost the numbers of people who survive cardiac arrest in the region.
On average in the UK, there is an 8.6% chance of a patient surviving a cardiac arrest out of hospital.
GoodSAM is a community of first aid trained responders, willing to assist during a cardiac arrest.
NEAS will be switching on the system in the North East and inviting its clinically trained staff, trained in basic first aid and qualified to perform lifesaving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), to register.
GoodSAM will automatically notify nearby GoodSAM responders of the medical emergency. The platform connects those in need with those who have the skills to provide critical help before the emergency services arrive. The app is free to download on all smartphones.
This event is an opportunity to interview, video and photograph those who have made it possible in the ambulance control room.
WHO:
Clinical operations manager at NEAS Gareth Campbell
Available via phone call, Mark and Ali from GoodSam
Mark Hagan from NEAS Emergency Operations Centre
WHERE:
North East Ambulance Service, Bernicia House, Goldcrest Way, Newburn Riverside, Newcastle, NE15 8NY
WHEN:
Thursday 8 August 2019, 10am
Notes to editors
About North East Ambulance Service
North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (NEAS) covers 3,200 square miles across the North East region. It employs more than 2,600 staff and serves a population of 2.7 million people by handling all NHS111 and 999 calls for the region, operating patient transport and ambulance response services, delivering training for communities and commercial audiences and providing medical support cover at events.
In 2017/18 the service answered over 1.4 million emergency 999 and NHS 111 calls, responded to 280,00 incidents that resulted in a patient being taken to hospital, treated and discharged 27,000 patients with telephone advice and treated and discharged over 100,000 patients at home. In the same year, clinical crews responded to 126,746 of our highest priority patients within the national targets and scheduled care crews completed almost 580,000 patient transport journeys.