A new app aims to ensure rapid assistance when accidents happen on islands whose populations swell during holidays.
Tanja Brøns is a nurse anesthetist and is camping with her family on Anholt. She stands ready to drop everything she is doing and help. (Photo: © Sanne Nyland Christensen, DR) 40 minutes ago
Normally, 126 people live on Anholt, but in summer the population on the island in the Kattegat grows to between 3,500 and 4,500.
Previously, tourists could sign up on a list if they had a profession that could be useful for emergency response – such as doctor, midwife, nurse, or firefighter.
But now a new app is set to make it easier and faster for help to arrive while waiting for the medical helicopter, which can take up to 45 minutes.
For example, if a pregnant woman goes into early labor and calls 1-1-2.
- If there is a midwife registered in our system, you can send the midwife there at the same time as the helicopter leaves the base and the doctor from Anholt runs there, says Carsten Iversen, development manager for the app at the Danish Emergency Management Agency.
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How the app works
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The app 'Trygge Øer' (Safe Islands) is being tested on Anholt. It will then be rolled out to more islands.
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The app is aimed at doctors, nurses, midwives, as well as people from the fire service, police, and ambulance services.
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The app tracks your location as long as you are on the island, so the nearest volunteer can be sent to the accident site by the emergency dispatch center.
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On an emergency call, a siren tone sounds and you can see a description of the incident. You can then accept or decline. Afterwards, you are guided to the scene.
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In the future, already registered users will receive a notification when they approach an island.
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There are QR codes for the app on board the Anholt ferry.
Source: Trygge Øer, (https://tryggeoer.dk/) a collaboration between Trygfonden and the Danish Emergency Management Agency
Just like the heart responder app, an alarm sounds on the tourist's phone if their expertise is needed. There is already an emergency service on Anholt, but if a wildfire or a major accident occurs, having extra firefighters, for example, is useful.
- The phone starts to screech and say, we have a heath fire, would you like to help? And if you press yes, you get the address, and then you are guided to the fire station to pick up your equipment and then on to the fire site, says Carsten Iversen.
The app can track the volunteers' location, so the nearest healthcare professional is sent there.
You can download the app via QR codes that are, among other places, posted on the Anholt ferry. (Photo: © Sanne Nyland Christensen, DR)
One of those who has signed up for the app is nurse anesthetist Tanja Brøns. She visits Anholt several times a year with her family and has been on an emergency list for years.
She is pleased that an app can now make it smarter.
- It provides a huge sense of security, both for children, young people, and the elderly who might have some illnesses that could flare up, or they could become unwell along the way. Or children who get injured, she says.
She has never been contacted there before, but should it happen, she can make a difference during the three-quarters of an hour waiting for the helicopter.
- I can achieve a great deal. If I have some good supplies, I can help stabilize a patient, ensure clear airways, and that they get the medication they need, she explains.
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To be rolled out to more islands
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The idea for the app came from the emergency services on Anholt, and so that is the island where the app is now being tested. Over the coming years, the hope is that the app, named 'Trygge Øer', will be rolled out to more islands.
And the app will be active all year round.
- We might as well take advantage of the opportunity, whether they are on a Christmas holiday or summer holiday, says the development manager.
Nurse anesthetist Tanja Brøns also hopes that people in general will think about helping others when they are far away on an island:
- All hands are useful. Even if you can only hold a hand, comfort someone, or find things. It is a great help, she says.
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