Most impactful practitioner developed digital technology
This category recognises health and care practitioners who have found digital solutions to improve experience and outcomes for people they support. This may be developing a new digital technology or it may be about using an existing technology (including social media) in new and innovative ways.Lifesaver – The Resuscitation Council (UK) has combined forces with award-winning production company UNIT9, to develop Lifesaver – a revolutionary new way to learn CPR.
Lifesaver is a live-action movie you play like a game. It just happens to show you how to save someone’s life. It throws you into the heart of the action, changing what happens in movies showing real people in real places. You learn by doing: do it wrong, and see the consequences; do it right, and sense the thrill of saving a life.
Free to download for smartphones and tablet devices
More about Lifesaver
An estimated 60,000 people each year in the UK have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and, sadly, less than 10% of those people will survive. Cardiac arrest is not discriminatory – it can suddenly and often tragically affect people from all walks of life, young and old, at any time. Yet, if a bystander is able to start CPR they could double a person’s chances of survival.
The Resuscitation Council (UK) has been at the forefront of investigating ways to increase the number of people willing and able to perform bystander CPR. In conjunction with Unit9, they have produced this immersive, interactive crisis simulator that combines live action film and interactivity. It can be played online or downloaded for free to smartphones and tablets.
Through a series of three scenarios, the user is taught how to perform CPR and use an automated defibrillator (AED). Using innovative technology, the user will be able to open airways with the swipe of a finger and actually perform CPR. Decisions that are time dependent are accompanied by a countdown clock to replicate the reality of the situation. Using the accelerometer in the smartphone/tablet, they will find out in real time if their chest compressions are to the correct rate and depth. At the end of each scenario, the user is given a score which they can post on social media. They also have access to a series of ‘extras’ including talking head interviews with experts and real-life accounts from rescuers and victims of cardiac arrest.
Unlike other products, the direction the scenario takes will be guided by the actions the user takes. If they do the wrong thing, they will see the consequences of their action. They will then have the opportunity to replay that section so that all users gain the full educational experience of how to correctly perform CPR.
The app was first introduced in 2013 and since then has been viewed 423,396 times. In addition, it has been downloaded onto 46,820 smartphones and tablet devices. We are aware of at least two lives saved as a direct result of education from this product. Clearly, there is the potential of a much wider impact that has not been reported back to us. This includes the potential for users to benefit from this knowledge at any time in the future as well.
The best way to summarise this product is to allow it to speak for itself. We suggest that you access the first scenario – “Jake” – and we are confident that you will soon be hooked. Users have spoken of emotions that have surprised them at the conclusion of the scenario.